Bleached Metal
by Alex McM
Summary: Ichigo aquires a taste for extreme music and so does Rukia. Both dream of becoming metal legends and so they start a band. What follows is a series of strange auditions, weird fans, brutal gigs, riots, accidents, jokes and retardedness. Enjoy and rock on!
1. 1: Discovery

**Bleached Metal**

You may be thinking, what the f***, but I am a die hard metal head, as well as a bleach fan, and combining the two seems like a good idea. This is rated teen right now, but may change later on. For now, it's a comedy, but knowing me, it'll probably have violence in there eventually. Chapters will be short, and I'm assuming the story will only span a few chapters, but anyway...I hope you like it. Please read and review.

**Track 1: Discovery**

KARAKURA HIGH SCHOOL

~Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggghhh!~

Ichigo's head rocked back and forth rhythmically as the scream echoed on and on. He hadn't told anyone about his new taste in music, he thought it would destroy his reputation. His ears rang as the sustained screech stopped and a guitar solo followed. Ichigo grinned and lifted one arm, fingers twitching. His lowered hand performed imaginary strums.

"What...the...fuck?!" Someone said in an antagonising way. Ichigo yelped and spun on his heels to face a large kid. One who frequently tried to attack him, merely because of his hair...it seemed there was a new reason on the list. "You listening to your stupid Ipod again, huh piss-hair?!"

"Piss-hair? You stay up all night to think that up?" Ichigo turned off the device and stared down at his foe. "You just don't like anything I do..."

"I don't like you either!" The tall thug hurled a punch which Ichigo dodged with ease. Ichigo countered with a hard knee to the gut. The thug collapsed to his knees and watched as Ichigo strolled off, once again playing air guitar.

*****

In the computer lab, most of the students were busy typing away at the old machines, however only a few were on task. Most of the class were looking up something completely unrelated. In Ichigo's case, it was the new metal festival that would start in Japan in a few months. He wanted desperately to get tickets, but his family were too stingy to give him enough spending money. For some reason, which had not been explained to him, Yuzu was in charge of everyone's bank account, meaning her approval was needed for every transaction.

Ichigo scrolled down the list of bands and his mouth almost watered as he read them.

"What'cha up to Ichigo?" A bright cheery girl with chestnut brown hair bounced up beside him.

"Oh, nothing." Ichigo closed down the site, embarrassed. He and the girl shared a shy laugh together.

"What was that you just closed?"

"Nothing, Orihime."

"It looked like something." Orihime folded her arms and frowned. "Wait a minute...I know what it was!"

"You do?" Ichigo stared at her.

"You were looking up naked girls! And you were scared I would judge you, so you closed it down!" Orihime smiled. "I'm clever."

"I was not looking up-" Ichigo stopped himself in time. "Look, it was...um...you wouldn't understand."

"I'm pretty sure I would." Orihime said defensively.

"Do you know what 'Death-fest' is?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow. Orihime smiled awkwardly and looked to the floor.

"It...it's a...festival?" Ichigo nodded and she continued to try and explain it. "A festival...where they...kill people? Like a human sacrifice?"

Ichigo pinched the bridge of his nose and walked away.

"What?! Was I right or wrong?! Ichigo?" Orihime ran after him.

*****

LATE AFTERNOON

Ichigo walked home alone. He looked around constantly, waiting for someone to arrive. After five minutes of searching, she arrived. A young woman with raven black hair, wearing a black kimono, dropped down from a rooftop. She gazed at Ichigo and sighed.

"How was your day?" Her deep blue eyes looked amazing in the sunset.

"Alright. How about yours?" Ichigo looked down at her blood-stained uniform.

The girl groaned and sat down in the gutter. "I've been fighting non-stop! It's ridiculous! My arms hurt, I can barely stand and back is killing me!" She curled into a ball and looked at the ground. Ichigo could easily notice the stress within her expression.

"You deserve a break." He said blankly.

"Huh?" The girl looked up.

"Rukia, you need to relax once in a while..." Ichigo trailed off.

"I would if I was allowed...but Soul Society always finds work for me. I never get a break." She frowned.

"Have you ever had a sick day?" Ichigo asked.

"Shinigami don't get sick, unless we are poisoned, but that is really rare." Rukia smiled at Ichigo. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"I doubt it!" Ichigo sat down beside her. "Say...do you ever listen to music?" Rukia shook her head.

"Not since I was still alive, and I was so young I don't remember it at all." Rukia sighed.

"Take this." Ichigo handed her his headphones. Rukia stared at them, confused. Ichigo placed them in her ears and then pressed the play button. For several seconds, Rukia was frozen in place with the same expression as earlier. After twenty seconds, and when the growling and screaming began, Rukia lit up like candle. A large grin spread across her face and she stared at Ichigo in awe.

"I have been missing this for a hundred and fifty years...This is brilliant!!"

Ichigo smirked. He felt less strange now that he had a fellow metal head by his side.

"What is making that sound?" Rukia imitated a riff from the song and Ichigo explained about Electric guitars. It was then that an idea popped into his head.

"We have to go!" Ichigo dragged Rukia to her feet and ran off, towards home.

*****

KUROSAKI CLINIC

Ichigo approached his sister Yuzu while she was preparing a meal. "Yuzu, I need to take out some money for a...uh..." Ichigo placed a finger on his chin. His sister looked up at him and cocked her head. "A...um...electric guitar."

"Why do you need that?" Yuzu crossed her arms.

"Well, we have music lessons now at school." Ichigo lied. "And we don't have much supplies, so some people have to buy their own stuff."

Yuzu nodded and reached into her pocket, where she retrieved a key. "It's so good to know you're doing something good for the school Ichigo!" She smiled broadly and handed him the key. "The safe to your bank book is in the dining room."

Ichigo ran off, barely holding back the huge smile. Yuzu had bought the story, now he could buy a guitar and start shredding. He snatched up his bank book and sprinted out of the house. Rukia stayed behind in Ichigo's room, connected to his Ipod. She lay on her mattress inside the cupboard, banging her head to the beat. She was finally relaxing...and it felt good!

*****

GUITAR SHOP

Ichigo wandered down aisle after aisle with his newly filled wallet, searching for the right instrument for unleashing audible hell. He passed many possible choices and he almost cried when he realised he was torn between at least ten different axes.

Then his eyes fell on it.

The Halo Hellfire...Twenty-two frets, a sleek black body shaped like a V, a crab-claw-shaped headstock, a blood red trim around the edge...it was perfect. The body had sharp spikes where there were cut-aways and made the guitar look more like a weapon than a musical instrument. Crossbones indicated the main frets which were divided by golden strips of metal. Ichigo's mouth watered and his hands trembled as they reached out to pick up the mighty Hellfire. Without even checking the price, he ran to the counter, wiping his droll away with his sleeve.

"Thisoneplease!!" He yelled excitedly.

The cashier tilted his head. "What?"

"Isaidi'dlikethisguitarplease!" Ichigo couldn't slow down his speech or heartbeat.

"Um...sure..." The cashier stated the expensive cost and Ichigo simply handed him his wallet. The man fished out the right amount and handed the rest back to Ichigo, who was starting to shake. "Are you alright?"

"I'm better than alright!!" Ichigo yelled, despite being so close to the man. "I have this!!" He held up the guitar and then ran off giggling like a schoolgirl.

"Fucking weird kid..." The cashier watched him bound out of the store and through the crowds.

Ichigo ran through the crowds of people but came to a complete stop outside a dress-up store. He walked slowly inside and wound up at the counter with half a dozen tubs of white face paint and half a dozen black ones. He dropped them on the counter and then turned around, spotting a can of hair dye. He impulsively snatched it off of the shelf and hurled it at the check-out girl who studied the many tubs of paint.

"You having an early Halloween party or something?"

"No." Ichigo replied simply. A very awkward silence followed and the two simply looked in different directions as they did their separate tasks. When they paint was purchased, Ichigo sprinted out of the store and ran home.

*****

Ichigo ran into his front door and collapsed there, panting heavily. Yuzu opened it for him and he crawled inside.

"So, Ichigo, did you get a-" Yuzu stopped and looked around for Ichigo. He was already gone. Ichigo's bedroom door slammed shut and she frowned. "Why doesn't he talk to me..."

Ichigo threw the face paint on the bed and then whipped out the guitar, striking a pose. "Hey Rukia!" Nothing happened. "I said, hey Rukia!!" Again, nothing. Ichigo scowled and wrenched the door open. Rukia screamed and jumped, but in the confined space, ended up slamming her face into the wall. She fell back on her mattress with a bloody nose. A red stain was on the wall now.

"What was that for you ass?!" Rukia grasped her sore face and her gaze wandered from Ichigo's face to the object in his hands. "What's that?" She pointed to the strange thing in his hands.

"Guess." Ichigo said. He then began to play a short riff. Rukia's face lit up and she started to clap and cheer.

"A guitar!! You got one!! Oh my god, it's so cool!!" She dragged out the vowels on 'so', making it stretch on for five seconds. "Can I pay it? Can I play? Can I play it?" She started to bounce on the mattress like a four year old anticipating a birthday present.

Ichigo handed her the axe and her eyes went wide, as well as her grin. After several seconds of being completely still, she looked up at Ichigo with a frown. "How do I play it?"

Ichigo sighed. "This is gonna take a while..."

I hope you liked it. Please review.


	2. 2: The Set Up

**Track 2: The Set-up**

Ichigo groaned and slapped himself in the forehead. "Ok...For the last time, when you pluck the string, remember to hold down your finger on the fret- I mean...that little rectangle on the neck."

Rukia nodded and held a finger down on the thickest string on the third fret. Her other hand held a black pick which hovered closer to the string. When it did, miraculously, Rukia did not let go of the fret. A deep note played and she squealed excitedly.

"Yay!" Ichigo said sarcastically. "It only took three and a half hours!" He lay back on his bed and sighed.

"Shut up! I had never even seen a guitar until today! This is the best I can do!"

"Well if you want to make it big, then you have to learn quicker, other wise it will take a whole year until you learn a riff."

"What's a riff?"

"Oh for fucks sake!!" Ichigo slammed his head into the wall and then grunted when the pain started. Rukia handed him an ice pack which she had been using for her nose earlier. Ichigo took it reluctantly and held it against his head. "Can I play for a while? You haven't let go of it since I gave it to you about three hours ago." Rukia handed him the guitar and lay back on the bed.

"One day...I'll be a great guitarist like Kirk Hammet..." Rukia stared off into space.

"Wait! How the hell did you know about him?! I never even told you!" Ichigo tilted his head in confusion.

"I did some research while you were gone. Impressed." Rukia folded her arms and smiled confidently.

"No. You can't even play smoke on the water!" Before Rukia could ask the question, Ichigo played the simple riff and grinned. Rukia stared at him as he had just turned water into wine.

"Wow!" Rukia clapped. It made Ichigo feel amazing, when really, he had done nothing. "Teach me!"

"What?! I just taught you for ages! I just want to play solo for a while!" Ichigo's face went red. He felt childish, arguing over the guitar like two kids over a video game. He sighed and gave in.

_Lesson two begins..._

AN HOUR LATER

Ichigo collapsed to the floor and cried. "Why is it so hard?!" He wiped the tears from his eyes and stared at Rukia. "Would tab help?" Rukia opened her mouth and Ichigo cursed. "Okay, I'll ask again, would writing this out help you?" Rukia nodded uncertainly and Ichigo walked over to his computer and typed frenziedly. After a few seconds, he stepped away and showed her the screen.

Tablature was scrawled all over and Rukia stared at it. "Is that the top one or the bottom?"

"Top string is on the bottom." Ichigo replied, while considering bashing his head against the wall again.

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

_How long is this going to take?_

He must have been dreaming. He heard the song played perfectly on the first try. Ichigo's eyes shot open wide and he stared at Rukia. "Play that again!" Rukia did so, and again played flawlessly. "Is it possible that you learn ten times better when you read tab?"

Rukia shrugged.

"Okay...play this then." Ichigo put in a search for a different song, scrolling down the tab until he came to a complicated solo. Rukia just looked at it with a blank stare for a minuted and then down at the guitar. She then slowly played the first two bars before speeding up completely. Her fingers danced along the neck and tapped feverishly. She played it without stuffing up once and played the whole thing.

Ichigo's jaw dropped. "What the hell?! I can't even play the solo from 'one' and you just did it perfectly!! I've been playing guitar two years more than n you and...and...you beat me..." Ichigo sulked. "You're already Kirk Hammet..." Ichigo rose slowly to his feet and took a deep breath. For a moment, he looked calm and reserved, until...

"DAMMIT!" Ichigo roared in a deep and demonic voice. Rukia froze.

"Whoa! Did you hear yourself just then?!"

"Well I'm pissed off! I've been-" Ichigo was interrupted.

"No, no! When you yelled then...it sounded like a death growl!"

"Really?" Ichigo's face lit up like a match.

"Try it again!" Rukia insisted.

"I can't...I think I need to be angry..." Ichigo placed a finger on his chin as he thought. Rukia rolled her eyes and played another complicated solo. Ichigo clenched his fists and unleashed another guttural scream.

"You know, if you can do vocals, and I can play guitar...we could really start a band!!" Rukia's eyes sparkled with a child-like hope.

"We can't...A metal band has at least four members..." Both looked at their own feet and frowned. For a while, their hope had been shattered until...

THE NEXT DAY

A large poster was hung over the front fence to the Kurosaki clinic. It read: 'Band members wanted, auditions today.' A pentagram was painted as the dots on the two 'i' in the word auditions. It written with runny, red paint which resulted in a message which appeared to be written in blood.

Rukia smiled triumphantly at her friend. Ichigo stared at the poster in awe.

"Wow. That actually looks good, which is surprising considering how bad you usually are at art- oof!" Ichigo was slapped roughly across the cheek and he felt tears well in the corner of his eye.

"Now we wait!" Rukia watched cars drive past silently.

"I was thinking..." Ichigo interrupted her simple game. "Maybe you should have written 'BYO drums, bass, synth etc.'"

"BYO?" Rukia turned to him with a confused frown.

"Bring your own. I mean we only have a guitar...unless..." Ichigo never finished the sentence, instead running inside.

Inside Yuzu was folding laundry. She screamed when Ichigo crept up on her, panting heavily.

"Yuzu!! I need some more money!!"

"Why? You already borrowed so much only yester-"

"Shut up for a second!" Ichigo snapped rudely. "I need a drum kit...for school." He added quickly. "The kid who was going to buy them, he was mugged in an alley, so he can't buy them now, so I said I would!" He yelled frantically.

Yuzu tilted her head and frowned, but still handed him the key to the safe. Ichigo giggled like a schoolgirl and ran off again.

Ichigo returned to the music shop at the mall, again with a full wallet, but now with a huge bulky friend with him. Chad looked around dazedly and sighed.

"You still haven't explained why you brought me." Chad muttered.

"I need you to carry something for me." Ichigo replied, handing a bass guitar to him. He then handed the giant brute a large box containing a keyboard. He shoved Chad to the counter and paid for the items, much more calmly than before. As Chad walked off, instructed to go to Ichigo's house, the orange haired boy remained behind.

"You got drums?" Ichigo asked casually.

"Uh, yeah!" The cashier waved a hand to the entire wall lined with them.

"Good, you got little kiddies kits...but I'm looking for something...bigger."

"You mean double bass and all the extras? We have them too."

"Perfect! I'll take it!" Ichigo rubbed his hands in anticipation.

"Where are you getting all the money for this from kid? Do you deal drugs or something?" The cashier asked, concerned.

"No, I've just saved for a long time." Ichigo answered quickly. "Now, where are those drums?" Ichigo was led to another room where the huge drum kit was assembled. Ichigo grinned broadly and handed a large pile of cash to the man. "I'll take them!"

*****

HALF AN HOUR LATER

Rukia sat in the gutter, head in her hands. No-one had arrived yet.

"Grrrraaaaaagggghhh!!" An extended growl carried on from the distance. Rukia looked in the direction of the sound and noticed a truck driving quickly down the road with an orange haired maniac hanging out the window roaring like a demon.

"Ichigo? What is he doing?!"

The truck rolled to a stop and Ichigo rolled out of the cabin and ran to the trailer. He and three other men unloaded a massive fourteen piece drum kit. A few minutes later, Chad jogged up to them and unloaded a bass and a keyboard.

"Bring on the auditions!" Ichigo shouted.

"Yeah, when they decide to come! We haven't had anyone arrive for an hour now!" Rukia sulked.

"It doesn't happen right away. Sometimes you have to wait...and waiting will be fine, because we have all this!" Ichigo waved a hand to the new equipment.

"Ichigo, how could you possibly afford this? How much did all this cost?!"

"Oh, a few bucks...not too much." Ichigo shoved the issue aside. Now come on! Let's try it all out!"

Suddenly, a loud yell from inside startled them both.

"What?! What do you mean our bank accounts are all empty?!" It was Yuzu.

Rukia glared at Ichigo who had turned whiter than a sheet.

"Ichigo!! Where are you?!" Yuzu roared.

"Hide me!!" Ichigo looked around frenziedly and dived into a hedge garden on the neighbours lawn.

Well, manga-loving metalheads...I hope you are enjoying this story. Please review, I'm sure you have something to say.


	3. 3: Wanted

**Track 3: Wanted**

AUDITIONS: DAY ONE

After seven hours of hiding in a bin, Ichigo came out and hid inside the garage where the instruments were assembled. It only took five minutes of waiting until someone arrived.

The man was tall, with pink hair and glasses. He wore a strange white uniform. He waved to the others and approached the synthesiser.

"Name?" Ichigo asked, pulling out a notebook and pen.

"Szayel Apporo Grantz." He answered, bowing.

"Um...Can we give you a stage name that is shorter?" Ichigo asked.

"No." Szayel growled.

Ichigo and Rukia looked at each other and shrugged. "Show us what you can do."

Szayel cracked his knuckles and his fingers drifted over the keys. A classical styled song played and his fingers did not even appear to move.

"Wow...he's good!" Ichigo muttered.

Szayel then started to play a complicated synth piece that became increasingly heavier every few bars. When he was done, he bowed again.

"That was great! If you leave your contact details, we'll keep you in touch about the position." Ichigo handed him a clip-board that was devoid of writing. The sheet was divided into three columns, Name, number and address. Szael scrawled the answers in swiftly and then handed it back to Ichigo. He then disappeared.

"Well, that was a good start." Rukia beamed.

Someone nearby cleared their throat. The current band members looked up in unison to see a red-head with a tied back ponytail. He wore a leather jacket which covered his entire body, as well as most of his legs. Black sunglasses adorned his face. Strange markings were tattooed on his eyebrows and forehead.

"Okay, thanks for coming." Ichigo said. "So, what instrument do you-"

The man brought out a red and orange guitar with a flame shaped body. Ichigo gazed at it and smiled. "Let's hope you can play as good as that thing looks."

The man cleared his throat again and then plucked a soft intro. After a few seconds, he bashed the strings and played a thick, heavy chord quickly followed by a chunky riff. Ichigo and Rukia nodded to each other as he played 'Mortal Share' from Insomnium, then performing an original solo at the end.

Rukia and Ichigo gave him a standing ovation when he finished and both raised devil horns. The man held up the guitar and grinned.

"Alright! We need your name, you're in!" Ichigo said excitedly.

"My name is Ren- uh, I mean...Renji...Otashi."

Rukia tilted her head. "You look familiar...Also, I have a friend named Renji."

"It's a coincidence!" Renji yelled defensively. His body stiffened and he seemed almost afraid.

"Alright! Don't get angry, I'm just saying you both have similarities. But anyway, Congratulations."

Renji filled out the contact sheet and then walked off.

A small child walked in after him. He had silver, spiky hair and emerald green eyes. He looked at the instruments and walked over to the bass. He tried to hold it up, but due to the fact that the guitar itself was the same size as him...he had...difficulties.

Ichigo and Rukia watched on as he hopelessly tried to hold the thing, but to no avail. He cursed and then sat on the floor with crossed arms, pouting.

"Um...I'm sorry kid, but you have to go." Rukia said. She almost felt sorry for him. "I'm sure you're good but..." Rukia trailed off. The boy looked at her with a betrayed look in his eyes.

"I think my sister has a ukulele in her room. It has four strings." Ichigo threw out to the others. The boy blushed and nodded. Ichigo looked to Rukia. "Can you get it? I don't want to go in there, she'll fucking kill me!" Rukia groaned.

"Fine!" She got up and paced inside. Ichigo and the boy, who introduced himself as Toshiro, shared awkward, silent glances at each other. One would look at the other, until they looked away, then vice-versa. Ichigo wished desperately that Rukia would come back and stop the unusual quietness.

Toshiro began to cough in an obviously fake manner.

The pathetic awkwardness was agonising. Both Ichigo and Toshiro passed the time by conjuring their own suicides, which they both seemed to think was better than a five minute silence.

At long last, their saviour arrived with a pink, sparkly bodied ukulele. Ichigo suppressed the uproarious laughter that welled within. Rukia tried to make Toshiro feel better. "I think it looks kind of cute..."

Toshiro gripped the instrument with tears of shame. His fingers hovered over the frets and he took a deep breath...

...And ran off, leaving the guitar behind. His loud sobbing could be heard even when he was at the end of the block.

"Poor kid...I think we embarrassed him too much." Rukia whispered sympathetically, which contrasted to Ichigo's reaction. He was rolling on the ground howling with hysterical laughter.

Day one, over

*****

AUDITIONS DAY TWO

Ichigo and Rukia wandered over to the garage, ready for another days auditions. Yesterday's success brought with it high hopes. They had already signed on their guitarist and now only needed three more members. They were halfway there!

The door rolled up with a mechanical clank and when they stepped inside, someone was standing at the far wall, perfectly still. Rukia and Ichigo both shit themselves...not literally, but that would've been funny.

"Who are you, and how did you get in?!" Ichigo roared.

The man wore a white trench coat with frilly bits at the ends of his sleeves. His face was covered by a tall mask, covered in kanji, reminiscent of CJ from Chthonic. He did not move at all, but at least answered. "I am Aaroniero Arruruerie." His voice was quite strange in the sense that it sounded high and low pitched at once, as if two people were talking.

Rukia turned to her partner. "Ichigo, this guy...scares the shit out of me!"

"Don't worry. We'll be safe if he's on our side." Ichigo whispered before turning back to the eerie intruder. "So, let's see what you can do!"

He approached the bass and picked it up with purple fingers.

"Is that paint?" Ichigo asked.

"No, a birth defect." Aaroniero answered in his strange voice. It made Ichigo shiver. Aaroniero played the bass solo of 'Closer' by Lacuna Coil before subtly changing to the bass solo from 'Black sunshine' by White Zombie.

Ichigo nodded in approval. "He may be a freak, but he's good."

All of a sudden, he stopped playing. "What?!" He growled in two voices at once. This time, Ichigo literally crapped his pants. Aaroniero was breathing heavily and had thrown the guitar to the ground roughly.

"Hey if that's broken you have to pay for it!" Rukia yelled. She bit her tongue when Aaroniero's hidden eyes focused on her.

"Uh, Rukia?"

"What?"

"Bail!!" Ichigo sprinted out of the garage and into the house. Rukia stayed behind and giggled nervously as Aaroniero approached her.

"You have insulted me." He said in his unnatural way.

"Um...We'll keep you posted on the position. Thank you." She closed her eyes for a few seconds and opened them again. He was still there. "Bye-bye!" She waved and smiled. He was still there.

"You shall pay!"

"No, if the bass is broken you have to-oh...right...um..." Rukia looked around instead of meeting his gaze, not that she could see his eyes if she did. "The door is there."

"Are you insulting my intelligence?"

Rukia squealed. "No! I'm just saying, that, well the audition is over so you can go now." She followed it up with a shy laugh. Aaroniero walked off. Ten minutes later, when she was sure he was gone, she ran inside and curled in a ball.

Day two...over, despite only being 11:30am.

*****

AUDITIONS DAY THREE

After a restless night without sleep, haunted by nightmares of Aaroniero enacting his vengeance in a large variety of sadistic ways, the weary couple cautiously snuck into the garage. The checked under everything, just in case Aaroniero had morphed into a tiny bug. When they were about to open the door, someone banged on it as hard as they possibly could. The door dented and shrieked under the stress.

"Hey! Open the door! I don't have all day!" The rude man outside yelled.

"Well, I'm sorry, but you broke the door! You'll have to come through the house!" Ichigo yelled instructions at him. The man left and half a minute later came through from the house.

He had long flowing black hair and a white hoodie. He wore puffy white pants which made him look like an evil M.C Hammer. His grin was off-putting, as his teeth were always visibly, even when he wasn't smiling. It was as if his teeth were too big to fit in his mouth. He also wore an eye patch, which like the rest of his attire was white.

"What is it with guys turning up in white?!" Ichigo asked Rukia, who shrugged her shoulders. "Well, anyway, thanks for coming...and breaking the door."

"Sorry!" He yelled. Before the question could be asked, he sat down at the drum set.

"Don't break anything this time." Ichigo heckled.

"My names Nnoitrra, just thought you'd want to know, because you wont be able to hear anything for a few hours after this!" He slammed a foot down on a bass pedal. It created a sonic boom of sound which he followed up with a furious beating on the snare with regular strikes on the high hats and toms. His hands became a blur as he sped up faster and faster. True to his word, it was incredibly loud, in fact the garage door was trembling from the shockwave. He ended the piece by quickly going around and striking every single part of the kit, ending on the crash cymbal.

Ichigo clapped, but could not hear it. He really had gone deaf. He spoke, but couldn't even hear a slight noise. He was fairly sure he said, "That was great, we'll tell you if you get the part." but there was no way to be certain. Nnoitora approached the garage door and kicked it. The dent was smoothed out and it opened with ease.

Day three ended...with sore ears and again, very early.

*****

AUDITIONS DAY FOUR

The exhausted couple went into the garage grasping the sides of their heads. It had been another restless night. Both had headaches, but they had a job to do...to try and make it past one audition today.

They had to wait four hours before the first person arrived and another lined up behind him.

The first man in was dressed full in black and was absolutely huge. He took up the whole garage nearly. His face was concealed by a mask which looked like a fox's head, only far more scary with large fangs and glowing eyes.

"Someone's a Slipknot fan." Ichigo murmured as the brute walked in. He pulled out an obviously enlarged bass guitar and effortlessly played the bass solo from 'Dead bury their dead' from Arch enemy and then adding his own flair at the end. Ichigo and Rukia both clapped and them man lifted his bass, only to have it hit the roof.

"Well done! That was great!" He turned to Rukia. "I think we found our bass player."

"Ahem!" The man waiting outside stomped in. "You haven't heard me yet you dick!"

"Insults will only make me displeased." Ichigo replied sarcastically.

"Shut up, you 'tard!" The man wore an open vest which revealed a scarred torso His bass also seemed to have scratches and dents in it. The lower right side of his face was covered by a sinister looking mask which was merely huge, sharp teeth. When he spoke, they opened as well.

"The mask is cool." Rukia commented.

The man attacked his bass with clawed fingers, playing a blistering solo which seemed more suited to an electric than a bass, but was still very impressive. He also added deep growls and screams throughout. When he finished he raised devil horns and glared at the others.

"Damn! This is tough!" Ichigo grasped his chin as he thought. "Rukia...help me!"

"Well, no offence to you..." She pointed to the mammoth with a fox head. "But, with our low budget, it would be easier to accommodate the other guy." She looked over to the scarred one.

"It's pretty much the only difference between you, so...I'm sorry big guy, I'm sure you'll go far with your talent, it's just we can't put you or your stuff anywhere....because it's fucking huge."

The behemoth sighed and departed, his fox-head lowered in disappointment.

"I feel bad now..." Ichigo muttered.

The triumphant bass player roared in delight. "Yes!"

"So, what's your name?" Rukia asked.

"Grimmjow! And tonight, I'm buying drinks!" He laughed wickedly and the other joined in despite not knowing what was funny. "See you guys later!" He called as he skipped off.

"Well, that's good then. We only need a drummer and we have a band. "

"What about the synth?" Rukia pointed to the instrument.

"Well, we can do without it for a while. Not all band's have one." Rukia nodded as she learned another fact about metal.

It was then that someone drifted into the garage. He was so quiet that they only noticed him when he started using the synth. As he performed a masterful yet heavy piece, they noticed his appearance. His skin was white as a sheet. Green lines were painted under his eyes giving the illusion of tears. He had no expression on his face, which was rather creepy. When he was done, he stepped away from the instrument and stared blankly at the others.

"What's your name?"

"Ulquiorra."

"Why do so many people have complicated name?" Ichigo whispered quietly into Rukia's ear. He then rose to his feet and extended a hand to shake. "Congratulations, you're in!" Ichigo's hand was not shaken so he withdrew it and simply grinned moronically.

The man turned around and left, without a word or even a smile, or sign of emotion.

"Weird...but good." Ichigo said to himself.

The two locked the garage and went up to their room. They were going to hit the bar with Grimmjow.

How was that, headbangers? Hopefully, you liked it. Please review.

Oh, and in response to one of the reviews, Girugamesh do rock, but I am not sure if they will feature in the story.


	4. 4: Clubbing

**Track 4: Clubbing **

Rukia pulled a black dress out of the cupboard and got changed right in front of Ichigo, who had dropped the clothes he was holding and stared at her. Rukia turned her back to Ichigo. "Zip me."

Ichigo's jaw dropped and he made a stupid noise.

"Zip me!" Rukia repeated.

Ichigo grabbed the zip and slowly drew it up. When the job was done, he snapped out of his strange phase and got dressed in black jeans and a black t-shirt with an intricate pentagram design and the name 'Dimmu Borgir' printed in thin block letters within it.

The walk was soothing, the cold air of early night made their skin tingle and removed the stress of the past few days. It would feel good to unwind and relax for the first time this week.

The club loomed over them as they neared. It was a fortress full of drunks. A bouncer stood outside. Bouncer was the appropriate name for him as he was short and fat like a ball. He tried to look threatening but failed to do so. Another guard stepped outside and he was truly terrifying.

His face was covered in jagged cuts and his body was built like a tank. He crossed his arms and looked down at the two visitors. "Who're you?" He asked.

Ichigo tilted his head and said the first thing to come to mind. "Ichigo Kurosaki." The guard coughed.

"It's members only tonight. You aren't members...so piss off!"

Rukia turned to leave, but Ichigo grabbed her sleeve. "We aren't leaving! I'm not scared of you!"

"You know what happens to tough guys? They get beaten so bad that they are no longer tough!" The guard punched his other hand.

"What a threat...I'm shaking." Ichigo said sarcastically, though he really was shaking.

"You wanna go smart-ass?!" The guard stepped forward but froze immediately afterwards.

"Let them in, they're my friends!" The voice was familiar. Grimmjow placed a hand on the guards shoulder and gently shoved him back. He then held his hand flat out in front of him. Ichigo stared at his hand with s stupid face for several seconds before realising what it meant. He gave Grimmjow a high-five and then walked into the club.

As soon as the second door opened, an explosion of sound assaulted his ears. A live band was performing. The members all wore excessive amounts of eyeliner and were screaming about past loves. Ichigo walked past them and sat on an empty red lounge in the corner of the room. Grimmjow slid into the couch opposite and grinned widely.

"Nice place, huh?"

Ichigo nodded while looking around. Half naked women were dancing on a second stage. Ichigo failed to take his eyes off of them until someone slapped him. He turned to face Rukia's scowl. "oh, um...sorry."

"Never mind, that's the whole reason why they're up there!" Grimmjow waved the issue aside. "So is this all of you? I thought you'd have gotten some more members by now."

"Well, we have a guitarist and a possible synth player...why?" Ichigo asked simply.

"Because we're on in about twenty minutes." Grimmjow answered.

"On? On what?" Grimmjow sighed and pointed to the stage where the current band had left and a new group, fully clad in spiked armour and covered in bloodied corpse paint had taken the stage. "What? You booked us a gig?!"

"Yeah, I thought it would be a good way for us to get to know each other. Our first jam session is for all to see." Grimmjow scratched his blue hair.

"How the hell did you book it so fast?!" Ichigo asked, stunned. "We haven't even formed yet and you got us a gig-"

"Ichigo, this place has an open mic thing. You don't have to sell tickets or anything, you just have to turn up and play."

"But, we don't know anything!" Rukia yelled.

"What? Nothing? Not even a cover?!" Grimmjow shouted, increasingly agitated.

"Well, she can play a few Metallica songs, but I can't sing them." Ichigo answered for her.

"Well, can you play rhythm?" Ichigo shrugged. "Alright, I'll sing and do bass, Rukia will play lead and you go rhythm, got it?" The group nodded in unison. "We'll just keep that drummer onstage for our set."

"How long is our set?" Ichigo asked, fearing a long timeslot.

"An hour. But don't sweat, We'll just take turns doing solo acts, it'll be a piece of cake!" Grimmjow reassured them. "And then we can get hammered!" He pulled a longneck seemingly out of nowhere and downed the whole thing in a minute.

The black metallers on-stage were all playing at a speed which made it sound as if in fast forward. The drummer had red streaks in his hair which looked like blood-stains. His hands were moving too fast for the eye to see. The singer collapsed to his knees and screamed for what seemed like hours and the song ended, as well as their set.

"Show time!" Grimmjow showed the nervous couple backstage where equipment was stored.

Rukia picked up a glossy red ESP 'flying V' and strapped it to her chest. Ichigo picked up a black ESP Eclipse with a gold trim. He strummed several power chords as a warm up and then looked at Grimmjow.

"Hey, what am I supposed to do? I don't know any rhythm parts."

Grimmjow dropped the bass he was holding. "What?! You said you could do it!"

"Yeah, as in, I can if I knew what to play!" Ichigo yelled.

"Well...just...I don't know, follow along as best as you can! Now let's go!" Grimmjow picked up a black bass that had been used by the previous band. Red handprints were still on it.

"This is it!" Ichigo walked out onstage and stared at the many faces watching him, judging him. He turned around and made a high pitched squeal. "I'm out!" Grimmjow threw him up to the front of the stage and growled something that he couldn't hear.

The crowd went silent and Ichigo realised a mice was in front of him. "Hi." He waved. Grimmjow slapped himself in the face. "We are...um a...band from right here in Karakura. We are still getting set up, but here is a taste of what we do!" Ichigo stepped back and let Grimmjow approach the mic.

After a countdown from the crowd, they started, or at least Rukia and Grimmjow. Ichigo waited and listened to the song, identifying the main notes involved and doing the power chord variant. The crowd was impressed and were already cheering and raising devil horns. It was already two minutes into the song when Ichigo finally realised what he was playing. It was 'King Nothing'. He remembered the tune and started playing more confidently. Despite being totally unprepared, they were doing very well. By the end, the crowd were on their feet, screaming for more. Ichigo and Rukia went backstage while Grimmjow talked to the audience for a while.

"Hopefully, Grimmjow can waste enough time for us to only have to one more thing."

"I'll go next." Rukia muttered, slowly rehearsing her solo. Ichigo watched her fingers dance on along the neck. He was jealous. His growl would be on perfect form tonight, so he had to make the most of it.

"I have an idea for the finale! We'll need a drummer though." As if on cue, the black metal drummer walked in, searching for a bottle of water. Ichigo handed him one and asked him to join them for the end of the set. Fortunately, the man nodded in agreement. "You're on now I think." Ichigo said, noticing the loud cheers and applause.

Grimmjow came in with a broad smile on his face. "Good crowd out there!"

"That was really fast, what did you do?" Rukia asked.

"Oh, just an original thing I've been working on, it's not complete yet, that's why it was short. Good luck!" He high fived Rukia and watched her approach a stool onstage. She sat down and played a soft intro. After half a minute, she began to pluck a series of notes in quick succession, leading into a rough, thrash-styled section.

"Wait a minute! I know that song! It's Arsis 'We are the nightmare'!" Ichigo rushed out onstage and started screaming the second half of the first verse. The crowd looked around in confusion for a while but quickly accepted the vocals.

Grimmjow watched with a smile. "That kid can really scream..."

At the end of the song, the crowd roared as one, like a giant monster with hundreds of mouths. Ichigo went back behind the curtain with the others.

"Alright, it's the finale! We're gonna play 'Counterweight' by Heaven Shall Burn! Do you know it?" Ichigo asked his blue haired bass player. Grimmjow gave a thumbs up rather than say anything and the session drummer brushed back his long black locks. They all entered as one and went to their spots on the stage. The crowd went silent and waited.

The double pedals were extremely loud and made Ichigo's bones vibrate. Sweat was pouring down his face as he coped with doing the fast guitar-work as well as vocals. The crowd cheered louder and louder as the song went on, until it came to the chorus.

"YOU CANNOT SAVE ME! I AM THE COUNTERWEIGHT!" Ichigo waved his hand in a slow arc above his head as he repeated the line and the crowd did the same. The crowd sang the rest. It finally came to the instrumental outro. Ichigo spread his arms and ran to the front of the stage. It felt like a wonderful dream, the intense drums and the melodic guitar riffs, the screaming crowd...He felt drunk on his own power and dived for the crowd...

...Only to fall short and bang his face into the barrier fence.

The drums stopped and the guitars shrieked with feedback until they were turned off. The crowd gave off mixed emotions, some laughing, some gasping, some yelling for help.

"Ichigo!" Rukia jumped down to where Ichigo lay in a heap on the floor. "Oh my god! He's bleeding! Someone get help!!"

Ichigo groaned as he raised his head. His face was engraved with the grid pattern of the fence and it was bleeding in some places.

"Ichigo, what were you thinking?!" Rukia cradled him like a baby.

"I was...thinking...I was awesome!" He rasped slowly. Rukia smiled and hugged him. Grimmjow was now beside them and was helping the wounded singer to his feet. When he was standing up, the crowd cheered and raised their fists high.

"You alright, man? You got fucked up!" Grimmjow offered the orange haired fool an shoulder to lean on as they walked to their corner table. Grimmjow ordered drinks and band-aids. A young waitress came a short while later with the drinks and a small box of medical supplies. She also dropped off a piece of paper which Ichigo grabbed first. It read: 'Cindy' followed by a phone number and a smiley face. Ichigo grinned.

"My first groupie!!! It's finally happening!!" He raised a longneck and the trio made a toast to metal before sculling them all. They then patched up Ichigo's face. In the end, he only needed butterfly clips on both cheeks and his forehead, the rest were just impressions in his skin, not cuts. For three hours, they drank and joked, then Ichigo felt queasy and had to leave. The first gig was a success in one way and a disaster in the other, but it would not stop them. From now on, they would only rise higher and higher, until they were metal legends! Or lose their dignity trying...

Poor Ichigo, he got his ass kicked! Anyway, please review and tell me what you think so far! Also, if you have not heard the songs or bands I have mentioned, you should really check them out, they are the best of the best!


	5. 5: Ready For War

**Track 5: Ready For War**

This chapters a bit short, but they will get longer later on, so don't whine. Please read and review!!

The next day, when the wounds healed, the band got together. They still lacked a drummer, and their keyboardist did not show up, but they were quickly forming. The four members met in a coffee shop, but they did not order coffee.

"So, we need a drummer...any ideas?" Ichigo asked the group.

Renji scratched his chin and sighed. "Well, there's this guy I played with in another band a few years ago. He was incredible, better than anyone else! His speed put these other guys to shame. Since the band broke up, I think he'd be available."

"What's his name?"

"Well, he never told me...but his stage name was Kenpachi." Renji looked at the small menu and then put it aside.

"Kenpachi...do you know where to find him?" Ichigo pressed on.

"Yeah, sure. When we have rehearsals or something, I'll bring him along."

"Great! We can meet at our garage at five, is that alright?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, I'll find him by then. Will our synth guy show up?" Renji again looked at the menu.

"Ulquiorra? Well, he doesn't answer his phone and he never gave us an address, so...I'm not sure." Ichigo looked down at the table where a mug of coffee was now resting. "What the..."

Rukia picked it up and drank half of the steaming drink in one gulp. The others stared at her as if he had swallowed a sword.

"Whoa..." Grimmjow gazed at the girl with a strange curiosity that Ichigo found discomforting.

"Well, If you're about done, we might as well part ways." Ichigo rose to his feet.

"Hey, hold on now. Rukia isn't finished yet. Go on, have your coffee." Grimmjow leaned closer to her and tried to subtly put his arm around her chair, but Ichigo watched him with a death stare. Grimmjow grinned. "What's wrong Ichi?"

Ichigo's face went red and he wanted to punch him in the face, but he submitted and sat back down. "Nothing."

Renji also looked distastefully at their bass player. Ichigo cursed in his mind.

_Don't tell me we all love her?!_

Ichigo rested his head on his hand and leaned over the table, looking off at the other customers. One of them wore strange black and white make-up and a pharaoh's head-dress. His fingernails were incredibly long and painted a dark blue. Ichigo stared at him, oblivious to the others who had noticed. Soon enough, the whole group gawked at the weird man who now sat at a corner table alone to drink his black coffee.

"Do you think he's into black metal...or just plain weird?" Ichigo asked, forgetting his previous anger at Grimmjow's advances on Rukia.

"Maybe...maybe both." Renji replied. "Hey, that reminds me! What music are we gonna play? Black, death, thrash?" Renji could have gone on forever naming the genres, but stopped after those three.

"Um...we haven't really thought about it. I guess it's a group decision." Ichigo waved his hand at the others. "I mean, I can do death growls, so I'd go with death metal, but might be a bit plain for you guys."

"Yeah, you're right. I want to do huge solo's!" Rukia added.

"But its got to be harsh and brutal!! We aren't rock! We're supposed to be metal!!" Grimmjow said, slamming his fist on the table.

"So, how about melodic death?" Ichigo suggested. "It's the best of both worlds, so everybody's happy!"

They all nodded in agreement.

"Well, that's settled then, how about our name?"

Everyone went silent.

"Okay, that can be sorted out later...Let's go...If that's fine with you?" Ichigo growled looking squarely at Grimmjow.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." Ichigo sighed and walked off.

"What's up with him?" Grimmjow asked Rukia.

"I don't know...He's sort of always like that in one way or another..." She said sadly. Afterwards, she suddenly became bright and cheery "See ya!" She bounded off down the street after her roommate, leaving Renji and Grimmjow behind...just staring at her.

*****

THE GARAGE

Ichigo, Grimmjow and Rukia waited for Renji to arrive with his supposedly incredible drummer. Ulquiorra, as expected did not show up. The group already decided to just cut him from the band. While they waited, they messed around with their instruments, realising that inevitably they would need to write some original material.

After an hour of waiting, a knock came at the garage door. Renji Stepped through and looked back at someone. A huge shadow blocked all light from coming through.

"My god...He's fucking huge!!" Ichigo stared, horrified.

The man ducked under the door and rose to his full height. He towered over them all. His hair consisted of long spikes which stood straight up, fanning out from his head. There were small bells attached to the ends. He wore a tattered white coat and black underneath. An eye patch covered one eye, and judging from the look of him, it was supposed to be there. When he grinned, sharp teeth were visible.

"He's a monster!" Rukia backed away from him, resulting in a deep, intimidating laugh.

"Hey Kuchiki! I never knew you were into this as well?" Zaraki suddenly seemed so familiar.

"Are you...captain Zaraki Kenpachi?!" Rukia tilted her head.

"Yeah, of course! Can't you recognise me? The only difference is my clothes!" Zaraki seemed annoyed now.

"Yeah, But Renji said you were in a band...I never knew that."

"I did guest drums on 'In Sorte Diaboli'!!" Kenpachi folded his arms and looked rather proud now.

"Hell no! You did not drum for Dimmu Borgir!! No way!!" Ichigo pointed an accusing finger.

"I did."

"Did not!"

Rather than waste lines, I will tell you that their moronic back and forth lasted over ten minutes, before both gave up, without coming to a conclusion.

"Well...show us then! Prove it!" Ichigo waved a hand at the drums kit. Zaraki sighed and sat at the drums, studying them as if he had never seen them before in his life. He cleared his throat and banged the sticks together, before performing 'The Chosen Legacy'. Ichigo watched, stunned. The double pedals went so fast they sounded almost like a continuous sustained noise, rather than separate beats. At the end, a standing ovation ensued.

"I believe you now! You're in!!" Ichigo shook the giants hand, but Kenpachi never let go. Ichigo giggled nervously, until it rose in pith to a squeal. "You can let go of my hand now!" He shrieked in a pitch so high, that Micheal Jackson would be impressed.

"I never forgot our fight Ichigo...I'm gonna have a rematch soon enough!"

Ichigo nodded swiftly and when his hand was released, he hid behind the guitar rack.

"So...You're from the Soul Society...does that mean Renji _Otashi,_ is a shinigami too?" Rukia asked, slyly glaring at the red-head.

"Fine! You got me!!" Renji sulked.

"Why did you lie? Like I give a shit if you play guitar!" Rukia interrogated.

"Well, I beat you at combat skills and things like that...I thought you'd be jealous if I was better than you at guitar too...so I lied." Renji looked at his feet.

"I'm not jealous. It just means there is friendly competition now! And besides...I kick your ass at Kido!" Rukia smiled smugly.

"You don't have to rub it in!!" Renji whined.

"Oh shut up the both of you!!" Kenpachi roared. An awkward silence followed.

"So...you all know each other, except for me?" Grimmjow asked, feeling like a complete outcast.

"Pretty much..." Renji said.

"Oh well...Let's play!!" Grimmjow performed his short bass solo from the other night. Everyone clapped at the end. "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. I've been in talks with some guys...I got us another gig at a bigger club...and apparently, there are some record company people there, looking for fresh talent!"

"What? Another gig? When was the first?!" Renji asked, irritated.

"Oh, last night...We didn't even know it was a gig until the last second, so we couldn't call you in." Ichigo replied.

"Did it go well?" Renji asked, now curious.

"It was great...until _someone _had to stage dive into a fence!" Rukia pointed her thumb to Ichigo.

"Shut up! I was tired! I thought I could jump further!" Ichigo tried to defend himself, but the whole time, Renji, Kenpachi, Grimmjow and Rukia were pissing themselves laughing. "Stop it!" Ichigo wailed like an angry tween girl. This only provoked more laughter. Ichigo was losing control of the situation. He thought desperately and suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs. "I drink menstrual blood!!"

It worked. Everyone stopped and stared at him.

"Are you serious?! That's fucking gross, man!!" Grimmjow covered his mouth.

"It's not mine is it?!" Rukia asked disgusted.

"You twisted son of a bitch!!" Renji muttered.

"I don't really do that! I was just trying to get your attention!!" Ichigo yelled.

"Fucking hell...Don't scare me like that!" Rukia said, her breathing erratic.

"Why would you be scared? You would have hit menopause at least a hundred years ago."

"Nope."

No-one wanted to continue with that conversation, so Renji did them a favour and changed the subject. "Let's get some stuff written for that gig! We want to get signed, so we have to earn it!!" Everyone agreed. Their line-up was complete, they already had one original riff, they had decided on their genre...they were ready for war!!

So there you go! They are slowly crawling towards success. Will they make it? WIll they get signed? FInd out in the next chapter!!

Please review!!


	6. 6: Finalization

**Track 6: Finalization**

Well, metalheads of the world, it's been a while since updating, I'm sorry about that. I've had a lot on my plate but I'm hoping to get more done in the near future. Please read and review.

The band all sat in the living room of Grimmjow's house. A miniature studio had been set up...they were prepared to have to create their own album if they did not get signed.

Grimmjow fiddled with his bass, slapping random notes, which mysteriously sounded good.

"Hey, Grimm, do that again!" Renji leaned close and watched Grimmjow hit the short string of notes.

"Well, looks like we can have an all bass record! Come on you lazy shits! So far I'm the only one coming up with stuff." Grimmjow frowned at the others, as if his bad mood would make them suddenly spur into action. It did.

"Sorry, Grimmjow, you're right. We need to do our part as well...sorry dude." Ichigo stretched out a fist and Grimmjow reluctantly punched it lightly.

"How loud do your amps go?" Zaraki came in from the other room.

"Huh, um...pretty damn loud. Why?" Grimmjow asked, his blue eyes scanning the scrappy looking drummer.

"Well, it's gonna have to go as high as it goes unless you know how to mute drums." Zaraki almost looked hopeful.

"Why don't you just not hit them so hard?" Ichigo suggested.

"Shut up you little turd! I wasn't asking you!" Zaraki snapped.

"What?!" Ichigo growled.

"Look kid, if you've got a problem we can just step outside!" Zaraki grinned with his fangs in full view.

"No...I'm alright..." Ichigo submitted. If he had a white flag he would have waved it like a fan at a football match. Zaraki chuckled and walked off.

"Seriously guys, that guy's fucking scary!" Grimmjow whispered. "Why does he wear rags and always want to fight people?! Is he like an ex-con or something?!"

"No, he's...it's hard to explain." Rukia grappled with the decision of informing their band-mat about the afterlife.

"He's an alcoholic." Renji lied.

"Oh well, as long as he drinks, I'm fine!" Grimmjow sank back in his seat and watched Rukia pluck a few strings of her guitar. "So who's going to do the leads?"

"Leads?" Rukia cocked her head.

"The lead guitars, you know, solo's and stuff. Is it gonna be you, or the red-head?" Grimmjow pointed to Renji who was tuning his Minerik Inferno.

"Why don't we both do it? We'll take turns." Renji did not look up as he suggested it.

"Sure! I shotgun first solo of our career though!" Rukia yelled out, raising a fist in the air.

"Fine." Renji started playing 'Enter sandman' as a warm-up.

Rukia performed the solo from 'One' and then changed it into an original solo. Everyone went silent as Rukia's fingers flashed across the neck of her guitar. She went on for three minutes before ending with a long sustained note. She giggled sheepishly and looked around. "How was that?"

"Wow...just...wow." Renji's eyes were wide and his heavily tattooed eyebrows were raised in surprise. He started clapping and everyone else followed suit. Rukia stood up and bowed.

"Alright! That's definitely for keeps that one! Now we just need to work out a verse and chorus...and a name...and-"

"Stop making this seem harder than it already is!" Renji grunted and looked down at the flame-shaped guitar. He struck a deep power chord and then an open triplet on the sixth string. He then repeated the short phrase over and over, changing the chord every now and then. He frowned. "No, it's still missing something..." He added more notes into the riff and more chords, eventually getting a heavy riff he was happy with. He played it several times while waiting for the approval of the others.

"That's good. We should have like, a little melodic thing going on in the background." Ichigo suggested. Rukia performed a fluttery piece using the high notes. Then she and Renji played it in unison and the others applauded them. The two then did their own little sliding scales of chords in what would be the chorus. They eventually got in synch and it sounded great, judging from the cheers from the other members.

Ichigo took out a note pad and scrawled a few lyrics that came to mind. He banged his head to the guitars that played along as he thought. He then walked into the other room where it was quiet and he quietly growled and screamed the lyrics, finding a style that would suit the song and the lyrics. He decided to use death growls for most of the song, but some lines would use Black metal shrieks. He ran up to the others who were all playing along. Grimmjow was adding the touch of bass to the song flicking rocking his head back and forth, flicking his blue hair about wildly.

They got up to the chorus and Ichigo took a deep breath, then...

"I feel HOLLOOOOOOOOOW!" He stretched out the 'o' sound for several seconds and a smile crossed everyone's faces. "Hollow! This hole inside! Hollow! Taking over my mind!" He used high pitched shrieks for the word 'Hollow' before reverting back to the deep growls. He added the rest of his lyrics and they overheard Zaraki's' frenetic drumming from a few rooms away. They had written their first song, and it was heavy as fuck!

*****

Nineteen hours and about thirty cups of coffee later, they had finished writing four songs. Now, they were exhausted. Renji slumped over the couch, his eyes rimmed in black.

Rukia was struggling to stay awake. She kept nodding off, but waking up a few seconds later.

Ichigo's throat was so sore he had to write what he wanted to say on a piece of paper and show it to the person he wanted to talk to. He drank water to try and soothe his throat, but he had drunk so much that now his bladder was getting revenge on him by forcing him to go to the toilet every five minutes.

Grimmjow was already asleep, purring like kitten.

Zaraki, on the other hand, was still drumming. The sonic boom of sound made it impossible to fall asleep. Ichigo snatched a piece of paper and stabbed it with his pen, writing an angry message. He then ran into the 'drum room' which was named for obvious reasons. Zaraki looked up from his mammoth drum-kit and frowned.

"You still awake?"

Ichigo growled, but it made his throat hurt so he stopped short of a strange croak. He handed the paper to Zaraki who read the message and laughed.

"Aw, little Ichi can't get to sleep because of my drums...Fine! I'll stop...anyway; I've probably done a whole albums worth of stuff. I can take the tomorrow off!" He tried to get to his feet, but his legs were frozen in his sitting position. "What the hell?!" Zaraki punched his legs which made a sickeningly loud thud. He then rubbed them until he could bend them. The giant strolled off and allowed the band to rest. Ichigo drifted off in the middle of the corridor, falling face first to the soft floor and never getting back up.

*****

The next day the group sat around in a circle, all had note pads and pencils.

"Right. We're going to brainstorm for names and a logo and our first album cover. Just draw whatever comes into your head and we'll see what we come up with." Ichigo instructed.

They all went about their work silently, until, "How do you draw intestines?" Every stared at Zaraki. "What? What did I say?"

Everyone ignored him and went on with their artworks. Their silence returned, the only sound for a full half hour was the scratching of pencil lead on paper.

Eventually, Ichigo told the group to stop. "Alright, let's see what we've got! Rukia, show us what you have."

Rukia cleared her throat and smiled. "Well, I thought we could call ourselves...'Blood-drunk Chappy!'" She opened the notebook and displayed a drawing of a cartoonish rabbit covered in blood, holding an axe in one hand and a knife in the other.

"That's...interesting." Renji complimented.

"No! No freaking bunnies! We're a death metal band!! Death metal and bunnies don't work together, if anything, death metal bites the head off of bunnies!" Ichigo ranted.

"Don't say such horrible things about cute wittle bunnies." Rukia sulked, hugging the drawing to her chest.

"Oh well, Renji?"

"Um, I thought we could call ourselves...'Soul Reaper' because-" Renji looked over to Grimmjow and thought up a quick lie. "'Cos it just...sounds cool." He then flicked open the note book revealing a skeleton in a black kimono with a large, serrated blade.

"I like the name." Grimmjow nodded approvingly. "The swords and sandals guy is alright, but we could do something else, depending on what else we have." Grimmjow coughed. "Anyway, I thought we'd call ourselves, 'Pantera.'"

"Pantera already exists!" Ichigo roared.

"What?" Grimmjow was taken aback.

"For Christ's sake, haven't you ever heard of them?!" Ichigo yelled, getting very agitated over a small matter.

"No."

"You've never heard of Dimebag Darrel? One of the best guitarists to ever live?!"

"Honestly, I never have. You're probably just lying to get rid of my idea!" Grimmjow thought he'd caught onto a devious ploy.

"No, I'm serious, Pantera was a band from Texas, but their career ended when Dimebag was shot in the head with a shotgun by some nutter during a concert. Dimebag was one of the greatest guitarists, I can't believe you never heard of him!" Ichigo grabbed the sides of his head in anger and surprise. He took out his Ipod and played 'Floods'. Grimmjow nodded and sighed.

"Okay, so the name is out, but what about this?" Grimmjow revealed a black panther standing over a corpse with a bloodied paw raised in the air.

"That is good!" Rukia said. "That's really awesome!"

"Thanks, so, what have you got Ichigo?"

"Well, Grimm, I have this." Ichigo revealed a gothic looking man with a cold stare and pale skin. A large hole was in his chest and a black liquid was seeping out, forming a puddle shaped like the words 'Beyond Death'.

"Hmm, that's pretty good. Actually, the samurai thingy from Renji would work well there. Actually, hold on a second. Grimmjow scribbled something and then showed it to the group. It was the skeletal samurai, with his arms stretched out to the side and his mouth opened in an agonised scream. There was a hole in his chest, much like the one from Ichigo's drawing. Everyone seemed impressed.

"What about me?!" Zaraki growled. He spun his note book around and revealed a dismembered corpse with its entrails spilling out onto the floor, creating the words 'Living dead'.

"That's good too, but, it may be a bit much..." Ichigo muttered.

"What?" Zaraki growled irately.

"Well, it's just that...the whole...guts spilling everywhere thing is a tad too extreme..." Ichigo flinched, expecting to be attacked, but Zaraki just shrugged his shoulder and tilted his head.

"I guess you're right...An album cover like that wouldn't get very far."

"So, the name." Ichigo clapped his hands and then rubbed them together. "I vote for Soul Reaper."

"Second." Rukia raised her hand. Renji grinned confidently and Grimmjow raised his hand.

"Okay, we are now officially, Soul Reaper!" Ichigo cheered and the others did the same. "And, our first cover will look like this!" He snatched Grimmjow's notebook and revealed the scribbled artwork of the skeleton shinigami with a hollow hole. "We are finally a band! But more importantly...we are ready to win a record deal!"

"Yeah!!" Everyone roared in unison, raising their fists.

Well, it was quite difficult trying to write a song being played, but hopefully, that wasn't too bad. I hope you liked it. Please review!


	7. 7: Welcome To The Pit

**Track 7: Welcome To The Pit**

_This story is dedicated to my cousin Sarah, who passed away recently._

The newly formed band, Soul reaper felt higher than the clouds. They felt so good; they felt like going to a club. Ichigo insisted on going to the place of their first unofficial gig, as his groupie was waiting. The others could not care less, as long as they could get pissed and enjoy themselves.

They stood outside the bar, once again, needing Grimmjow's interference to allow them entry.

Once inside, they took a corner booth and ordered drinks. Ichigo walked up to the bar and scanned the several scantily clad maids. He spotted the girl he wanted and called her over. "Hey Cindy!" The girl turned to him and her face lit up.

"Oh my god! You're that guy from that band um...what were you called again?" She asked innocently.

"We're Soul Reaper. I thought I'd stop by and say hello while we celebrate. He smiled arrogantly as he spoke. "We've got a few songs ready and we're doing a gig tomorrow. If we play well enough, we'll get signed to a label."

"Cool! Just make sure to clear the fence if you stage-dive." The girl giggled while Ichigo went red in the face. "Well, yeah...I'll make sure that doesn't happen again...Anyway, how about we have a few drinks together?" Ichigo raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"Okay! My shift ended just then anyway! Let's party!" She removed her head band and brushed a hand through her short brown hair. They walked back to the table where everyone grinned from ear to ear.

"Wow, you work fast Kurosaki!" Renji joked before taking a large gulp from a pitcher of beer.

"Where's my groupie?" Grimmjow asked, acting offended.

"You have to wait you turn!" Cindy said, grinning. The group laughed and Ichigo sat down with his fanatic.

"So, any good bands tonight?" Ichigo asked.

"Dunno...anyone just goes up on stage, it's not set in concrete." Cindy watched a bunch of sad looking Goths as they played a song so distorted it was a challenge to figure out what they were playing. They finished with a loud ringing sound which continued even when they walked off-stage.

"Hey! There's a band tonight that's going to that gig you're going to. It's like a battle of the bands type thing and the best group gets signed!" Cindy watched the next band and cheered. "That's them!"

"Alright, let's check out our competition." The first person to walk onstage was the giant with a fox-mask. His oversized bass was slumped over one shoulder as he stomped onto the wooden platform. It creaked underneath him and he took up most of the space just by standing there. Nnoitora came on next. He glared at Ichigo and Rukia as he sat down at the drum-kit.

He was followed by a dark woman with short blonde hair which fell across the upper half of her face, concealing her eyes. She wore a skimpy white vest which struggled to contain her large breasts. She received a few wolf whistles from the crowd, but her expression never changed. She held a white ESP 'Flying V' with a shark painted on the body.

After her were what appeared to be a father and daughter. The man had wild brown hair and a tired expression. He was smoking a joint while he walked onto the stage. A tiny girl with light green hair followed close behind. She wore a revealing white vest like the other woman, but she only looked to be about twelve years old.

"Bit much for such a tiny kid." Renji muttered.

"I'm not a kid!" The girl roared. "I am a woman!"

"How old are you then?" Someone in the crowd asked.

The girl went red in the face and looked at her feet. "Twelve." She whispered.

"We are called 'Flames Of Wrath' and we are going to get signed pretty soon." The singer seemed pretty cocky. "This is a preview of our stuff!" The man put out his joint and cleared his throat. The little girl took out a pink Dean Razorback.

"Wow! That's a cool guitar!" Rukia pointed to the little girl who smiled sheepishly.

The vocalist hummed accompanied by a quiet double-pedal rumble from Nnoitora. They got louder and eventually the stoned man was roaring like beast from Hell. Both guitars shrieked and a double lead ensued.

"Damn! That's awesome! We're gonna have to bust our balls to get signed!" Grimmjow stared in awe as the band played an intense verse riff.

"That little chick can really shred!" Ichigo exclaimed. "We've definitely got some competition."

Nnoitora stuck his tongue out and howled as his arms moved so frenziedly that his arms disappeared. He then struck the crash cymbal and a quiet melodic riff played. The older woman started performing a heavier riff while the little girl played the melody.

"Well, they formed a pretty good circle pit..." Renji pointed to the mass of people charging into each other and running about like rabid animals.

"Let's go in!" Cindy yelled excitedly dragging Ichigo to his feet.

The others got up and waded through the thick crowd towards the pit. Zaraki charged, knocking down anyone in his way. When he got to the mosh pit, he attacked. He shoulder charged a bulky man who shoved him away. Kenpachi landed in a trio of young girls who screamed as the shadow fell over them. Ichigo shoved them out of the way before Zaraki collapsed like a logged tree.

"What a hero!" Cindy grabbed Ichigo's arm and smiled. A fist slammed into her face and she fell to her knees.

"What the fuck?!" Ichigo looked at a man punching wildly in the air as he spun in circles. The fiery haired boy suddenly went fiery in spirit. He trudged over to the man and tapped him on the shoulder.

"What?" The man asked. Ichigo responded by punching him in the nose, knocking the guy out. The crowd roared like a hungry beast as they saw blood flow.

"This is freaking crazy!!" Grimmjow ducked under a high kick and then side stepped a man about to barge into him.

"Hey, where's Rukia?" Renji looked around and saw her crowd surfing. She was so light that people were throwing her up into the air to make it appear as if she were bouncing on the crowd. Bulky security guard pushed her aside.

Meanwhile, Zaraki and Ichigo stood back to back. "Come on Ichigo! Let's fucking wreck these little assholes!"

"I don't want to get into a fight!" Ichigo roared.

"Well, I'll just leave you when that guy and his friends find you!" Zaraki blackmailed.

"Oh fine!" Ichigo jumped into the air and kicked off of someone's chest, only to do a back flip in the air and land on another persons shoulders. The man yelled angrily, but Zaraki punched him in the gut and he went flying into the wall of people. Ichigo leapt over him and landed next to the big brute that was fortunately on his side.

"Ichigo! Wait up!" Cindy waded through the sea of pumped up metal heads, but someone ran into her and she was sent to the floor yet again.

"Dammit! This is dangerous!" Ichigo grunted as he caught a flying fist. He then thrust his foot into the mans torso, flinging him away.

"Enjoy it Kurosaki! This could be the last time you're in a mosh pit! From now on, you'll be _starting _them!" Kenpachi grinned with his sharp teeth. A small teenager tried to tackle him, but Zaraki just picked him up and hurled the screaming boy out of the way. He landed in a group of younger people and they all toppled, like a set of dominoes.

"There he is! That's the guy who took down Mitch!" Someone yelled. Ichigo knew who they were. The friends of the guy he put in a coma.

"Kenpachi, let's dance!" Ichigo smirked as the group of seven angry men approached.

"Let's drink some blood!!" Zaraki charged, howling like a maniac. He clothes lined one of them and head butted another. Blood flew into the air and people became more frenzied. Eventually, a circle was cleared with only Ichigo, Zaraki and their opponents left in the middle. People ignored the music and watched the fight.

Ichigo punched a blonde man in the ribs and ducked under a punch from the next man. He thrust his knee into the mans gut, but he did not fall. Ichigo sighed and snap kicked him in the jaw. The man dropped then. The first man was now back up, grasping his ribs with one hand, forming a fist with the other. Ichigo rolled to the side and swept his leg out, tripping the man. He then pounced and thrust four punches into the mans face, until his knuckles were bloody.

He felt like the battle was going in his favour until...

A chair slammed into the back of his head. Ichigo dropped like a ton of bricks. The chair-wielding man laughed, but Zaraki snatched the weapon from him and clubbed him in the face.

Security rushed in and broke it up. The music stopped and everyone whispered harshly while the offenders were taken outside.

Grimmjow and Cindy swayed the guards into releasing their friends, while the others were shoved into a police van and sent to the station.

Ichigo coughed into his hand which was soaked in blood. His skin on his knuckles was torn and he had a sore stomach from a few too many body-shots.

Zaraki was covered in cuts and bruises, but he acted as if he'd just been tickled, laughing hysterically.

"Ichigo! That was amazing! We have to have a rematch one day!!"

"Not for a while yet...I need some ice." Ichigo rubbed at his eyes. The opposing band came out and all members grinned.

"You have fun tonight?" The singer asked.

"I guess so...We've got our work cut out for us if we're going against you guys tomorrow." Ichigo rubbed at his eye as he spoke.

"You mean you're that band everyone's been talking about?"

"Most likely..." Grimmjow replied.

"The names Stark." The man extended his hand and Ichigo shook it. "The little ones Lilynette and the other chick is Harribel. You apparently know the others."

"They auditioned for us. I'm glad they found a band in the end." Ichigo smiled at Nnoitora and the giant.

"Well, I hope you can't play as well as you fight, otherwise we're screwed." Stark chuckled. "Good luck tomorrow."

"You too." Ichigo waved as they filed into a black van and drove off. "They're nice people. Even if they beat us, I wouldn't mind buying their record."

"We should get ready for tomorrow." Rukia suggested. We still need stage clothes. Let's go to the mall!" Rukia ran off, the others followed. Cindy and Ichigo kissed briefly before parting ways.

*****

Rukia dragged the group into a clothes shop and squealed delightedly as she came across a rack of various outfits made of leather.

"Should we have spiked armbands?" Ichigo passed them. The others shrugged their shoulders. Ichigo took down one and found a black fabric armband with a red pentagram emblazoned on it. He placed them in a basket and went further down the isle.

"Hey, where do we get fake blood from?" Zaraki asked.

"There's a dress-up store nearby, it should be there." Rukia told him.

"Alright, see you back at the house!" Zaraki strolled off, his ragged white coat swaying behind him.

Grimmjow took a tub of green face-paint and put in his basket, with a white collared jacket and grey jeans.

Renji took a black shirt and black shin pads with nasty looking spikes on them. He also bought a tub of white face paint and one of black. "Who else is gonna wear corpse paint?"

"I will!!" Rukia waved her hand about. "Get an extra tub of white." She instructed. She took a black corset off of the rack and held it up in front of her body next to a mirror. She smiled and put in her basket which was already overflowing with clothes.

They headed to the check out and a weary looking girl frowned at them. Rukia went first. It took several minutes and already the others were getting impatient. Rukia walked out with four bags. Everyone else only carried one.

Ichigo bought a black leather jacket as well as the armbands. He also bought a pair of black jeans. As he handed a wad of cash to the cashier, she noticed his damaged hands.

"What happened to you?" She asked in an almost forced way.

"Oh, I got...mugged." He didn't want to admit that he was only fighting for Zaraki's enjoyment...and his own. "I fought the bastard off with my wallet intact!" He smiled arrogantly and the girl at the counter rolled her eyes before handing him the bag.

When they had all purchased their gear, they went home. They would rest and tomorrow, they would face their destiny. Tomorrow's gig would be the deciding point of their career...and they were ready!

_**Please review!**_


	8. 8: Battle Of The Bands

**Track 8: Battle Of The Bands**

The band woke up before the sun rose as their excitement couldn't be contained by sleep. They began to get dressed immediately, despite having several hours before the contest even started.

Zaraki splashed his face and body with white corpse paint before pouring a vial of fake blood over his cheeks and eyes.

Grimmjow stood in front of a mirror delicately putting green paint around his eyes.

Renji rubbed black paint on his eyelids and then encircled them in a thin ring of black. He then painted arcing hooks down his cheeks, leaving the rest white.

Rukia put on an excessive amount of eyeliner and black lipstick. She then made her face look deathly pale. She giggled at her reflection and then stared at the pile of outfits she selected. While she struggled to decide, the others finished up.

Ichigo had marked near his cheek-bones, giving an illusion that he was emaciated. He then made tooth-shapes on his lips to make him appear like a skeleton from afar. Happy with his corpse paint, he stepped away from the mirror and dressed in his black leather jacket and black jeans.

Grimmjow, Renji, Zaraki and Ichigo watched Rukia get undressed. She then put on one costume, undressed again and put another on. They watched in silence for several minutes.

"How long is she gonna keep doing that?" Renji muttered.

"Who cares?" Grimmjow squinted at her backside. "Is that a tattoo?"

"She doesn't have a tattoo." Renji said before noticing the black mark on her ass.

"I think it's supposed to be a butterfly." Grimmjow whispered.

"That's not a tattoo! That's a real butterfly!" Renji's eyes widened.

"What? What's wrong? It's a stupid little bug." Grimmjow stared at everyone's concerned expressions. Ichigo walked out of the room and Grimmjow heard the front door slam. "What's the deal?! Why did you all act so weird with just a butterfly?"

"It's not important now. We'll have lots of time to discuss when we have a record deal." Renji said. Rukia was completely oblivious to this all, still trying on outfits. "Anyway, why talk when we can enjoy the view."

*****

Ichigo glared at the hollow which was crawling around in a car park. It was large, with six legs, each foot ending in scythe-like claws. Its head looked like that of a mutated eagle with teeth. It hissed when Ichigo approached, swinging his sword in front of himself and assuming a battle stance.

"I've got better things to do than slaying your wretched kind!" Ichigo leapt into the air and roared. "Getsuga Tensho!" He involuntarily used a death growl to say it. A large blast of blue energy devoured the hollow and Ichigo grinned when black particles drifted off in the wind, a sign of a dead hollow.

Ichigo ran back to the house and returned to human form, still in his stage costume. By the time he was in the living room, everyone was assembled.

Rukia had decided on a black and red tartan skirt and a black strapless top under a red corset. The outfit exposed much of her legs as well as her midriff and upper body, all of which she donned with white corpse paint.

"Ready to go?" Grimmjow asked, while adding the finishing touch to his costume, his fanged mask.

Ichigo nodded and the group began loading their equipment into a van. It took less time than they expected, so they took the scenic route to their destination. As they drove, they blasted pure fucking metal out of the stereos so loud that it made the vehicle rattle with every drum beat...and that was a hell of a lot. Ichigo looked at his face in the side mirror and imitated Gene Simmons, sticking his tongue out and flicking it about.

They knew they were close when they found large groups of Goths, emo's, scene kids, punks and pretty much every other metal-affiliated minority that exists all walking towards a huge arena. As they drove past, Ichigo and Rukia stuck their bodies out the window and roared, provoking the passers by to raise devil horns, scream back or just cheer and wave.

The van parked and the band stepped out to the admiring chants of the crowd. They just yelled out anything that came to their minds, as their name had not been made public yet.

Rukia waved with her whole arm and smiled at the crowds who had to be contained by large guards.

Renji took his Minerik Inferno out of the van and raised it in the air for the crowd to see.

Grimmjow took out his scratched B.C Rich widow and showed it off.

Rukia waved around her Halo Hellfire and danced like an excited schoolgirl.

Zaraki and Ichigo went in empty handed.

Inside, twenty roadies were finishing off the stage and setting up amps the size of a door. People were soundchecking and others were calibrating lights. A small handfull of V.I.P's were watching the whole thing with an ecstatic gleam in their eyes.

Soul reaper went backstage where a whole bunch of bands were sitting in their separate groups, every so often moving out to chat with a rival. They found a room marked with their own name and they filed inside. Comfy lounges and a minibar were pretty much the only things in the room. As they got comfy, they overheard someone outside yell.

"It's show time!!"

*****

"According to this list, we are the third band...shit." Grimmjow went down the list. "Our rivals from the club are on last, so we don't need to get worried for a few sets."

"So how does this work?" Ichigo asked, watching the first band walking through the corridor with excited grins on their faces.

"Well, we only play one song and when everyone's finished, the record execs will decide who to sign on."

"So...what song will we play?"

"Hollow. It was our favourite; it should work well on the crowd."

Ichigo nodded and quietly sung the lyrics over, making sure he didn't forget them. The others, except Zaraki rehearsed.

The current performers were so loud that their loud Bloodbath cover could be heard in the green room. Everyone looked up in unison and listened.

"Outnumbering the day?" Renji asked.

"Yeah...hmm. They're pretty good." Grimmjow grinned. "But original songs will go down better than covers. That's why we've got the upper hand on about two thirds of the other bands."

"True, but we still have to give it our all. We don't want to lose this!" Ichigo overheard the solo and grinned. The group listened as the band finished the song and roared something at the crowd. A loud cheer and thunderous applause ensued.

"Must be a good crowd out there." Rukia mumbled.

"All the better for us then!" Grimmjow smiled behind his white skull mask.

The next band came on almost immediately after, quickly launching into a Trivium cover. The vocals sounded slightly off and one of the guitars wasn't properly tuned. Nonetheless, the crowd still screamed and sounded happy.

"Well, we'll beat them." Zaraki chuckled. "Those guys are shit!"

"They aren't shit, just...unprepared. We are ready though! We're gonna give them hell!!" Ichigo stuck his hand out in front of himself. Renji quickly caught on and placed his hand over Ichigo's. Rukia did the same, followed by Grimmjow and Kenpachi. "Metal for life!"

"METAL FOR LIFE!!" They cried in unison as they broke their united hand and raised them as one, all forming devil horns.

They picked up their instruments and took deep breaths. The current band was in the middle of the final chorus.

Soul Reaper strolled casually through the corridor, passing other bands who gave them best wishes or simple taunts. They stopped at the entrance to the stage and watched the other band wave and depart.

"This is it... Bloody hell! I'm shaking!" Ichigo held a black microphone in his hands which were painted white. He walked onstage first and his face would have gone pale, if wasn't already painted that way. He stared at the crowd which numbered in the thousands. He gulped and then spoke into the mic. "How is everybody tonight?"

A loud roar which was probably supposed to be 'good' was the crowds reply.

"Are you ready for some metal?!"

"YEAH!!!"

"Alright then, that's what you're gonna get! We are called Soul Reaper and this is our first song, HOLLOW!!!" The crowd screamed and Ichigo pointed to Zaraki who did a blast beat drum-roll.

"Raise your fucking hands!!!" Ichigo roared. He crowd did as told and a two thousand hands rose into the air in unison as if it was organised.

Rukia played the melody while Renji unleashed the heavy verse riff. Kenpachi's feet struck down on the pedals at an intense speed and Grimmjow stabbed his bass with his fingers. The intro went on for twenty seconds before Ichigo laughed and roared wordlessly in a long sustained scream.

The crowd went insane and only thirty seconds in there were two mosh pits forming.

"As I sleep, a voice calls to meeeeeeee! It's urging me, to go on a killing spreeeeeee!!" Ichigo used black metal vocals for the last word of each phrase. "Eat their soul, suck their blood, throw their corpses to the mud! HOLLOOOOOOOOOW!!!" His death growls sounded better than usual and the crowd roared. The front row were jumping up and down and banging their heads in a convulsion of excitement.

"Hollow! This hole inside! Hollow! Taking over my mind!!" Ichigo roared while the heavy power-chords blasted out of the gigantic amps.

"!!!!" Ichigo tilted his head up and closed his eyes as the scream lasted for fifteen seconds straight. He ended it sharply and Rukia's blisteringly fast solo came on.

Rukia walked up to the edge of the stage and smirked while she tapped the fingers of both hands on the fret-board.

A drunken idiot in the front row tilted his head to see up Rukia's skirt, but she ignored him, so did everyone else.

The solo went on, changing to a slower more melodic instrumental. The crowd fell silent and listened to the amazing guitar work. When she was finished, Renji's guitar whined and shrieked in a high, shrill note. He gritted his teeth and raised his guitar before doing a solo of his own.

Ichigo gestured for the crowd to raise their hands while the high pitched shredding ensued.

After a while, they all stopped except for Kenpachi who did a quick blast beat, then a short rest, then another blast beat. The guitars quietly performed the verse riff and Ichigo whispered the words in a deep voice eventually leading to another bloodcurdling scream.

"!!! IIIIIII FEEEEEEEEEEEL HOLLOOOOOOOOOOW!!!" While he stretched out every vowel, the guitars battled in a frenetic high pitched riff.

Ichigo then sung the chorus and repeated it two more times, and then everyone intensified their playing.

"Hollow! This hole inside! Hollow!! Taking over....My fucking miiiiiiiiiiiiind!! Grrreurgh!!" the song ended on a heavy chord. Ichigo bowed his head and the lights went down.

The crowd screamed their praise. The band looked up and grinned.

"Have an awesome night!! Thank you!!" Ichigo raised devil horns and then ran off backstage with the others.

"That was so awesome!!!" We blew them away!!" Rukia danced about and giggled like a schoolgirl who just agreed go on a date.

Zaraki wiped sweat from his brow and sighed. "Damn, that was crazy!"

Grimmjow and Ichigo high fived each other and laughed. "You were great out there!" Grimmjow patted the vocalist on the back.

"Oh my god! My heart is pounding! That was so amazing!"

"Guys, I think we might have won this!" Renji said ecstatically.

"You know what...we were so good; I think we deserve to raid the minibar!!" Grimmjow ran off for their room and the others followed.

*****

Two hours of booze-fuelled mayhem later, the group were all sitting on the couches provided, all surrounded by empty bottles and glasses.

"I...love you!" Grimmjow said...to Ichigo.

"Dude, you just said that to me."

"I know, I meant to! I just..." Grimmjow burst out laughing. He was drunk. "I love you all! Here, give me a kiss." Grimmjow leaned over Ichigo's lap.

"What the hell! No! Hey!! Stay back!!!" Ichigo crawled away and Grimmjow went red in the face.

"I'm sorry; I never meant to hurt you."

"Can someone please get Grim some coffee. If we win a record deal we don't want him to be drunk, otherwise he might hump someone's leg or something." Ichigo pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Grimmjow was sobbing loudly. "Oh, for god's sake, will you shut up!!!"

"Sorry, here, have a drink." Grimmjow extended a hand holding a glass full of brown fluid.

Ichigo reluctantly took it and sipped.

*****

FOUR MINUTES LATER

"Let's get naked!!" Ichigo's face was red and he was just as drunk as Grimmjow. The others were buzzed, but hesitated to drink more.

"What on earth was in that drink?" Rukia asked, shocked.

"I don't know, but it had vodka and rum in it..." Renji said while picking up the empty bottles beside Grimmjow who was doing a headstand for no apparent reason.

The crowd could be heard cheering and an announcer suddenly began speaking. "This is our last band tonight. They are called Flames Of Wrath!" The song played at the club last night played again, only not as loud this time. The walls muffled the sound.

Ichigo pouted. "We did better than them! We deserve to win!"

Rukia frowned. "Someone get both Ichigo and Renji a coffee...otherwise they might expose themselves on stage or worse..."

Renji made coffee, black and steaming. He handed them to the two drunkards and sat down. Grimmjow and Ichigo shared sly glances.

"Bet I can drink it faster than you!!"

"Bet you I can!!"

"Let's race!!"

The rest of the band all shared concerned glances. Ichigo and Grimmjow poured the scalding black fluid down their throats and both seemed unaffected. They sculled the drink and then slammed their empty cups on the ground beside them at the same time. It was a tie.

"Damn, we both lost!" He looked at the cup and raised an eyebrow. "What kind of beer is this, it tastes weird."

"It's coffee." Rukia corrected. Ichigo went red in the face and steam misted out of his mouth. He suddenly looked terrified.

The former drunks had been snapped out of their stupidity, but now a new problem had arose. "AAAAAAGGGGGGHHH!!! My throat's on fire!!! Water!! Water!!!"

"Oh no!! I gotta pee!!" Grimmjow ran to the small door at the back of the room. He ran inside and slammed the door behind him. A sickening trickling noise followed, accompanied by a shrill scream. "It's still warm!!! Owww!! Owww!"

Everyone winced as Grimmjow's pained noises went on for another few seconds before the toilet flushed. Everyone looked sympathetic when Grimmjow walked out with tears in his eyes that smudged his corpse paint.

"Oh, you poor thing." Rukia sighed. "That's what you get for being a fool."

"Anybody have some ice?" Grimmjow asked. Everyone suddenly gasped. "No! Not that kind!! I mean, like the cold frozen ice!" Everyone still eyed him suspiciously. "Guys, I don't take drugs!!"

Renji pointed to a fridge and Grimmjow ran over to it taking out a handfull of ice cubes and sticking them down his throat and down his pants. Everyone shielded their faces from the sad sight and blocked their ears when Grimmjow let out a long relieved sigh.

"Well, wasn't that incredible! As the judges deliberate, let's meet our bands again! Come on out guys!" The announcer yelled into his microphone so that he could be heard in the back rooms.

"That's our cue. Grimmjow...just stay at the back." Rukia went out first and they walked back onstage, joined by thirty others. The stage was cramped, so everyone was crushed into the person next to and in front of them. Rukia, with her small stature was nearly squished into a pulp, but she crawled onto someone's shoulders and jumped over him, landing at the front of the stage where she waved like an American on a game show.

This went on for five minutes until a group of people near the back of the crowd marched up to the front. They didn't look familiar, but record execs aren't the faces you remember. They stopped their strange march at the foot of the stage. Everyone went silent, anticipating the good news.

"Hi everyone. We are from Nuclear Blast. If you haven't heard that name then get out now!" One person in the crowd jokingly began to walk away. "Now...tonight we are going to sign on one of these great bands...but who?"

"Tell us you bastard!!" Someone yelled at the back of the crowd. The executive chuckled and took out a sheet of paper.

"This is the contract and this..." He reached into his pocket and took out a black pen. "...Is the pen that will do the work. Now, could you please come down here..." Someone got on the drum-kit and did a drum-roll. Everyone leaned forward expectantly. "Come down here...Soul Reaper!"

Rukia screamed so loud that the glasses on a mans head in the front row cracked. She jumped about ecstatically and nearly fell over as she hopped down to the execs. The other members shoved their way through the other band to the front of the stage where they dropped down wordlessly.

The exec handed them the contract and the pen, pointing to the lines at the bottom of the sheet. Without even reading it, Rukia signed her name, followed by a cartoon bunny face wearing corpse paint. The others signed, except Ichigo who stared off into the distance. He snatched the pen and signed. He then closed his eyes and sighed. The exec was about to shake his hand, but Ichigo snatched the mic off of him and ran to the crowd. He raised a fist and roared.

"YEEEEAAAAHH!!! WE MADE IT!!! YEEEEAAAAHH!!!"

The crowd clapped and cheered and Ichigo returned the microphone, shaking the mans hand so hard it made him wince. Ichigo apologised and stood with the rest of the group. The crowd split and they had a guard of honour back to their van.

They had finally gotten signed. Their dream was coming true...but it was still a long way from becoming legends...

The next stage of their career is about to begin! Anyway, I hope you were able to understand the song parts...it's tricky trying to write down music. Please review!!


	9. 9: Launch

**Track 9: Launch**

CONFERENCE ROOM

A group of Nuclear Blast representatives sat at a dark wooden table. The members of Soul reaper sat opposite from them. Everyone was silent for a while, until a rep spoke.

"So, you tell us you have already worked out some material, but it hasn't been recorded yet."

"Yes." Ichigo stated blankly.

"Well, we can fix that. If you've already worked your material out, then this will make things easier for us all. We have a studio set up for you and our staff will help you get sorted. This record should be finished within a month or two."

Everyone's faces lit up. They were led down several winding corridors to a studio where various equipment was already set up. Cables hung from the walls like vines and they littered the floor, covering almost every piece of what looked like pale carpet.

"We're in a real studio..." Grimmjow muttered. He found a padded seat on which his bass was placed. The others found their own instruments scattered about the small room. They stared at everything in the room and each other, lost in silent awe.

Everyone gazed at the thin wiry man who walked through the door. He had thin framed glasses and hair as white as snow. He adjusted his specs as he approached the group. "Hello everyone. I'm Ryuken Ishida and I'm going to help you produce your first record."

*****

SIX HOURS LATER

Drowning in sweat, trapped in a small room, the members of Soul reaper all groaned.

"Well done. You've accomplished much in this time." Ryuken clapped and his small mouth curved up in a smile.

"Can we...have...a...break?" Ichigo rasped his throat sore from screaming and growling non-stop for several hours.

"Sure. You have recorded four songs already. You can take the rest of the day off if you want!" Ryuken opened the door and everyone dragged themselves out into the spacious lounge room.

Ryuken wandered through to the kitchen and returned with several longnecks. He passed them around to everyone and then took his own.

"We are going so far in such a short amount of time..." Renji muttered. "It's almost like a dream."

"Nope. It's real!" Rukia punched Renji in the arm as hard as she could and he roared in pain.

"You gave me a dead arm!!" He whined. Rukia merely laughed, as did the others.

"So, how many songs have you written?" Ryuken posed the question to the group. Ichigo began counting on his hands and cocked his head in surprise.

"Twelve. That's a whole album." Ichigo said proudly.

"So, the creative process is over. All you need to do is record them, edit and it's done. I think this album will be finished very quickly. Your CD's will be on the shelves within the month." Ryuken took a long sip at his beer.

Everyone began to drink, forgetting their problems in a sea of murky, alcoholic liquid.

*****

THE NEXT DAY

After recording another three songs early in the day, the group met with several smart-looking men in a conference room. A projector showed the Google homepage before the presentation started.

"Thank you all for coming. Today, we are going to show you our webpage we set up for you." The first man said. The man next to him took out a laptop and typed in an address in the bar at the top of the screen. It went to the Nuclear Blast homepage where an article about the band was posted at the top.

Soul Reaper read the article and grinned broadly.

"You're already being praised by our executives and reviewers. You've already received a reputation and the fans don't even know you yet. The studio report has been up for about five hours and already it's been receiving many hits. The public are getting excited about the release."

Ichigo leaned back in his chair and laughed. "This is excellent!"

The first man raised a finger. "Ah, but it get's better!" the second man typed in another address and a black webpage showed up. A white picture of the bands logo appeared at the top, as well as the name Soul Reaper. A short message about the album in progress was underneath. "This is your very own webpage."

"We have our own website?" Grimmjow asked, unable to process the information.

"Sure. We even have bios for each of you, though it was hard to find any information on you." The man pointed to Zaraki who shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

The bios flashed up. A picture of each member and a short paragraph about them came up.

"Cool." Rukia said, admiring her photographed self.

"When you shoot your first video, it will show up on here. We've also started uploading a few songs on here. By the time of the release, this site will be completed and it will become very popular! So, what do you think?"

"I love it." Ichigo said appraisingly. "Well done guys."

"Yeah." Rukia nodded along with everyone else.

"Hey, you mentioned a video..." Grimmjow trailed off.

"Yes."

"Well...when do we do that?" Grimmjow asked.

"Um...twenty minutes I think." The man replied. Everyone gasped.

"What?!" Rukia yelled. That's not enough time to-"

"Don't worry, the make-up people arrive with the director and the film crew. They'll sort out everything. Good luck!" The men blended into the dark room and suddenly they were gone. The door behind them opened and the band filed out. They headed back to their main room and sat down, speechless until the sound of several trucks could be heard.

A second studio became a buzz of activity as people scurried about frantically like ants. A bunch of makeshift dressing rooms were set up and each member was led to their own station where they were studied, prodded, poked, redressed and painted up. When they met u again, all were in their own costumes with full corpse paint applied. They looked around in a daze, unsure of what to do.

"So...what do we do?" Ichigo asked. At that moment, Ryuken arrived with a strange looking man beside him.

"Guys, this is Mr Urahara. He's the director for the clip. He'll walk you through it." Urahara waved and beamed at the presence of the band.

"Hi guys! It's great to meet you, but we can catch up later right now we have some footage to shoot!" He walked over to a chair and sat down. Grimmjow walked to wards the set but stopped when he realized no-one else had moved.

"Why is Urahara a film director?"

"Kisuke runs a freaking candy store, not a film crew!" Ichigo whispered harshly.

"Hey! Hurry up guys! Grimmjow yelled. They slowly followed onto the set which was set up to look like a graveyard.

"Right, I want you to perform 'Hollow' for me. You don't have to play it exactly right, but the realism is a bonus. I want to see some attitude too, don't just stand around like a moron. Got it?"

Most of the band nodded.

"Alright, three...two...one...action!" Urahara raised a hand and everyone went about their job, playing the song despite not being plugged in. "right, now don't be scared, but some amps will shoot out of the ground in three, two, one..." As he said, the ground burst in a spray of dirt and large amps rose up behind the band. "Excellent! Excellent! Now cue the pyrotechnics!" Flames began to slowly encircle the band. The flames at the back rose higher and higher until the nearly touched the roof.

Rukia began her solo and a camera man stepped closer to her, zooming in on her guitar, then panning up to her face. She gave him an evil smile and then looked back down at the neck board. While she did her solo, Grimmjow and Renji began head banging, leading up to them swinging their heads in circles, their hair flying about like a windmill blade.

"Awesome! Keep going!!" Urahara cheered.

The camera zoomed on Ichigo as his lips stretched apart and he let loose an epic roar. Ichigo fell to his knees and spread his arms out as he continued to sustain the deep note. Renji's solo began and the camera focused on him.

"Incredible!" Kisuke clapped.

Rukia began to dance while she gave the backing riff for the solo.

"Marvellous. Tease the audience! Flip up your skirt a bit!" Urahara commanded. Rukia gave him a confused glance and then shrugged, dancing and jumping, ignoring the camera which had lowered to an angle able to see the desired area.

The final chorus played and then they ended the song. The studio hand gave them a round of applause and Urahara cheered and gave them a standing ovation.

Soul reaper walked off the set and began to chat amongst themselves.

"Great work! We didn't even need to do a second take! Since we've already shot the other scenes, we just have to edit the clips and we'll have your video done hopefully by the end of the week!" Urahara shook everyone's hand, and then departed as quickly as he had arrived.

*****

THREE DAYS LATER

Everything was recorded. The group had done a photo shoot; they had agreed to do an interview after the release. They had hired a professional artist to finish the sleeve work. The album was being processed. Soon it would be in stores.

The group were to meet with Kisuke again to see the finished video clip. He arrived ten minutes late, not bothering to apologise. He set up a laptop and connected it to the projector. He went through a bunch of files and final found the one he wanted. Wordlessly, he hit the play button.

The song opened with a teenage boy lying in bed. The intro played softly. As the drum roll came, the boy began to stir until the opening scream, in which the boy rose up from the bed, his eyes glowing red. It began to cycle through the boy hunting down and murdering people and shots of the band performing. Eventually, the boy started getting a hollow hole which seeps black goo. He began to mutate then it showed the band for a while. It then went through shots of the band and the boys shadow until another huge roar in which the boy is revealed to be a hollow.

Everyone was impressed, but stayed quiet.

The scene of Rukia's dance came on, the camera drifting lower as she jumped about.

"Hey! You can see my panties!" Rukia yelled. Everyone ignored her and continued to watch the end of the song which showed the band performing as seen through the hollow hole, and then a final scream and everything cut to black as a short outro riff played.

Urahara switched the lights back on and grinned. "What do you think?" This time it was the band's turn to clap, but Rukia still wore a sour expression. "What's wrong love?" Urahara asked only to make her scowl at him.

"I don't want people seeing up my skirt!"

"Well...I'll consider that." Urahara said, averting his gaze. "Anything else? No more problems?"

"Hell no! That was great! Thanks so much!" Ichigo shook his hand and then the blonde man left, leaving the band behind to chatter excitedly.

"We have seriously made it you guys!! We've got an album, a video, we're going to be interviewed, and we've even got our own website! We are truly a band now!" Grimmjow raised his fist. "To Soul Reaper!"

Renji put his hand in. "Soul Reaper!"

Ichigo and Zaraki did the same, ending finally with Rukia.

They all layered their hands over each others and then drew them back as they roared. "Soul Reaper!!"

They had achieved so much in this short time, but they were still far from their dream of being metal legends. From now on, things would only get crazier.

Please review! 


	10. 10: Unleashed

**Track 10: Unleashed**

Been a while since my last update, sorry. Anyway, please enjoy and review. \m/

Soul reaper sat huddled in the back of a black van. They were outside a large building which would be the place for the premiere of their first album and their launch into stardom. The crowd waiting outside anxiously were all yelling and cheering and clapping and making as much noise as possible.

The band waited another five minutes and the kicked the back doors open. The crowd fell silent for an instant, eyes glued to the band. Ichigo spread his arms wide and roared. The crowd threw themselves at the van and Ichigo howled with madness. He leapt into the open arms of his fans and they carried him over their heads. The others did the same and they crowd surfed to the front entrance.

Large guards formed a living wall as the band walked in, waving to the fans behind them. They took up seats in a box on the next storey. They watched as the entrance was revealed to the public. They flooded in like an ocean of banging heads and devil horns.

"If they act this excited without the music, how will they go when it starts?" Grimmjow muttered. "A good turn out. We've filled the room in like four minutes!"

The cramped metal heads shuffled about anxiously, anticipating the audible destruction about to be released upon them. The lights went out and the crowd screamed.

Ichigo moaned ecstatically as the crowd cheered. "I could listen to that all day!"

A large screen at the front of the room flickered and revealed the bands logo. The crowd went wilder.

The speakers made a low rumble and the crowd went quiet. The drum-roll intro to hollow began and the video played on the screen. The crowd instantly became lost in a frenzy of excitement.

"I think they like it!" Renji commented as the crowd tried to start circle pits which were cramped and aggressive.

"I see four pits!" Ichigo yelled, pointing to the different pits as they formed. When the solo started, many began to do air guitar while others chanted and raised their hands in unison like a wave.

Rukia giggled at the excitement over her shredding and she clapped.

When the chorus came back the crowd struggled to sing along, though they did not know the words well and many screwed up. The crowd became so worked up that by the end of the song some had to sit down. "Well, that's one song down." Ichigo muttered.

Another two songs played and then there was a five minute break for the hyperactive head bangers. The band just got comfy when a speaker blared out in a tinny voice.

"Welcome everybody to the unveiling of Nuclear Blasts new best friends...Soul reaper!!" The audience went nuts again. The man on the speaker waited for s full five minutes before going on. "You've had a taste of their music, now it's time to see the band themselves! Come on out guys!!"

"Oh crap." Rukia muttered. "I think I might get groped a few times..."

"I'd be more scared of losing an arm in the frenzy." Renji successfully took her mind off of her first fear, but gave her a new one instead.

"Don't worry, they won't kill us because then they won't be able to hear more of our music." Ichigo reassured them.

"And if they even try, I'll bash their skulls in!" Kenpachi added. Suddenly they all felt safer and they wandered out of their little box and down the stairs into the human sea. Ichigo pretended to be Moses parting the red sea and he laughed hysterically as he walked down the hall of chanting and screaming fans. They roared out greetings to the loyal supporters, though it was probably never even heard over the constant chants.

When they reached the stage, the crowd tried to surge forward and the security guards sprung into action, charging down at anyone trying to get through.

"It's weird...like a zombie movie or something..." Ichigo commented. The others nodded. "Calm down guys." He asked politely. The crowd ignored him. "That's enough now." Ichigo said a little louder. The crowd still tried to force their way to the stage. Ichigo sighed and snatched the microphone from a representative of Nuclear Blast. "I SAID CALM THE FUCK DOWN!!"

The room went silent. You could hear sweat drop.

"Hello guys!" Grimmjow waved as he yelled over Ichigo's shoulder. The crowd got a little excited but decided to obey Ichigo.

"How are you? Are you enjoying the premiere so far?" Rukia worked up the crowd until they were screaming frantically again. She laughed and undid a button of her top. "Do you wanna see more? Or hear more?" Both answers got some attention but a group of drunken men answered.

"Both!"

"You only get to choose one!" Rukia argued.

"Both!" They chanted again.

"Well, you can hear more." A disappointed sigh came from the group of drunks. "Oh that's sweet...in a sort of creepy kind of way..." Rukia waved and the band took a secret corridor back to their box. They then waited for the next song to play.

Nearly an hour later when an extended outro guitar solo played on the last song, the crowd were exhausted. They had formed such furious circle pits that some people were crawling around under the shaking knees of those around them. Some people tripped over and didn't get up. Some tried to play air guitar but their arms responded slowly in a sluggish, laboured movement. Some sat down on the floor while a brave few kept banging their heads and jumping around.

As the premiere wound down to a close, a huge cheer rose up from the exhausted crowd.

"!!!!!"

Some gave a standing ovation, though they got tired pretty quickly. Guards began spraying people with hoses to rehydrate them.

"That was freaking intense!" Renji beamed. "They absolutely loved it!"

"We're going to be huge!" Ichigo roared.

"Not as huge as your ego." Rukia chipped in sarcastically. Ichigo shot her a glare and the group laughed.

They returned to their adoring fans that crawled forward to have things signed.

Ichigo took out a pen and watched a young girl bounce up to him.

"Hi."

"Hi! I'm Britney, will you sign these?" The girl removed her top and flashed her bare breasts in Ichigo's face. He stared at them dumbfounded for several moments and then, with a red face, he signed them, trying to avert his gaze in an awkward display of modesty.

Next up was a middle aged man with stubble and weary eyes. "Hey dude! You rock!"

"Thanks." Ichigo replied.

"Hey um...Would you sign my ass?" Ichigo's jaw dropped. "What?" The guy asked.

"Uh...Um...Er...Rukia would love to!" Ichigo grabbed Rukia by the collar of her top and dragged her over, almost tearing the outfit in the process. Rukia smiled at the man, unaware of his wish. She held out the pen and looked at him. The guy grinned from ear to ear and pulled down his pants. Rukia suppressed her gag reflex and swallowed what nearly came up. She then shakily extended her hand towards the pasty white canvas.

"Come on Rukia, sign it." Ichigo said arrogantly.

"I hate you Ichigo!!" Rukia cried as she signed it but hid her sorrow as the man turned around to shake her hand. Rukia glared at her companion who was laughing so hard he had dropped to the floor. "I will kill you Ichigo!" She growled before reverting back to her happy state in a surprisingly fast moment of bi-polar.

The next fan wanted his arm signed, easily done. Then there were a few signed copies of their album. That was followed by signing a guitar, a bunch of posters, a ticket, a driver's license and then an x-ray of a broken hand.

Kenpachi remained unapproached for twenty minutes because whenever someone came within five metres he would growl like a demon and scare them off.

The others finished up signing and chatted with a few fans. It was mostly small talk and nodding and smiling at endless compliments. When it was all finished, they retired back to their studio/house. They sank into the comfy chairs and sighed.

Rukia went to the bathroom with a kettle. "I'm going to disinfect my hands." She answered the question before it was asked. The group shrugged or nodded and let her go.

"Well, that was an experience..." Renji grunted while shifting into a more comfortable position in his chair.

"I...Signed...Tits..." Ichigo said slowly, his eyes wide.

"Bull! Why didn't I get to do that?!" Grimmjow whined.

"Cos you don't have the charm." Ichigo turned his nose up and smirked. Grimmjow hurled a shoe at him and yelled a string of curses.

After a short bout between the two which ended in disqualification for kicking in the balls, the two sat back down...or at least Grimmjow did. Ichigo curled up in a ball on the floor.

The phone rang and Renji pressed the loudspeaker button.

"Hey guys, its Urahara here!"

"Kisuke, my man! How did it go?" Renji asked.

"Yeah..." Ichigo whispered.

"Well, the premiere went well; we sold about four thousand records. We also sold a few thousand online and in a few record stores. All up it's about ten thousand, congratulations gentlemen...and woman."

The band cheered, except for Ichigo who wheezed while grasping his wounded manhood.

"If that's how well sales are going in one day, by the end of the week you could be in some major cash! I'm proud of you guys..."

"Thanks Kisuke." Grimmjow said. "So, do we get our well earned break yet?"

"Uh...not exactly...."

"Huh?" Rukia walked in from the bathroom, her hands dripping with soapy water.

"Well, you guys are going on tour." They all went silent. "Hello? Are you there?!"

"Yeah, yeah." Grimmjow leaned closer to the phone. "So...are we headlining already?"

Urahara's laugh crackled out form the speakers. "No! You guys are going to play at a festival."

"Which one?" Ichigo jumped up suddenly, his over-excitement negating the pain in his groin.

"Death fest." Urahara answered blankly. "There are some huge names there, so it will put you up there with the big leagues. I think it will launch you right up in the ranks if you play it right! You will even score an interview or two!"

"Geez...This is all so sudden!" Ichigo whispered.

"Well, would you rather become a god before your hair turns grey?" Kisuke asked. No-one answered. "Exactly! Now you might want to get packing, you're going to Tokyo!"

The group cheered. They were going to get their chance in the spotlight at a festival with some of the biggest names in metal...There was only one word to describe it...Awesome!!

Prepare yourselves! The ultimate metal festival is about to begin and insanity will surely follow! Don't miss it!

Please review!!


	11. 11: Deathfest I

**Track 11: Death Fest I**

The band managed to get fully packed in less than an hour. Their over-excitement had fuelled them to get everything ready.

"I can't believe I'm going to Death-fest!! In fact it's even more amazing that I'm going to be onstage!!" Ichigo bounced up and down like a child who is going to Disney World.

The pumped up band waited by the door with their luggage, anticipating their doorbell to ring and for destiny to greet them on the other side. It took an hour, but it eventually happened. The doorbell rang its tinny tune and they cheered. The door was wrenched open before the first bar of the chiming song finished.

The band gazed disappointedly at the man in a crisp white shirt and black trousers.

"Hello, I'm here to tell you about the church of-" The man stopped when the piercing glares began to sting. He slowly backed away and when he was ten metres away he broke into a sprint.

"Bastard! Getting our hopes up like that." Ichigo was about to close the door when the limo pulled up. His eyes flickered like search-lights and he ran to the long black vehicle and hopped in without a thought running through his head. He dove into a seat already occupied by someone and he shuffled over with quiet apologies.

Urahara shrugged it off and shook his hand and congratulated him.

The rest of the group filed in and they stared at each other silently. They were all at a loss for words, so Urahara requested the driver to play some music. A metal radio station crackled through the speakers and played a fast-paced song with a constant blast beat.

The band ignored it and just stared out the window at the signs leading them to the airport. When the huge white building loomed up ahead they began to cheer quietly.

Ichigo in particular was shaking like he had Parkinson's and he was bouncing in his seat.

The limo pulled up on the runway and a private jet stood alone on the tarmac. They rushed over and screamed delightedly as they entered their own private jet.

They oohed and aghed at the innards of the aircraft and then sank into their padded, velvet covered chairs. Wine bottles were placed near each chair and each man had his own T.V. Three stewardesses giggled and waved at them, except for Rukia, because they didn't swing that way. A pilot walked in and shook their hands and got an autograph before he went to the cockpit and started her up.

The plane took off gently and they sighed as their relaxing flight began.

*****

TWO HOURS LATER

The jet pitched down towards the ground and rolled down the runway while the brakes did their job. The jet rolled slowly to a stop and a crowd of excited fans waited outside.

As the door was pushed open, the united screams of a hundred or so people became suddenly audible. Ichigo ducked his head out first, waving like a fool. He was followed by Rukia who blew kisses, then Grimmjow who raised the devil horns. Renji came out next, waving like a saner person. Kenpachi stepped out and roared like a demon.

The crowd had a borderline orgasm as they walked through them. Ichigo pretended to part the waters again, something he had grown used to. The fans would step aside and hold out open palms for high fives.

Their journey through the airport was prolonged due to the human walls which blocked them off. Eventually, security guards got involved and shoved people around to make a path for Soul Reaper. They walked a gauntlet of new, excited fans accompanied by adoring shouts and roars. They found their next limousine and they crawled in and found the champagne and beer.

They drank to their hearts content while they were driven to their next stop. Most of the ride was forgotten due to the booze-fuelled mayhem.

When they arrived at their destination, the band had to crawl out on their knees, as they were already drunk. Urahara got out last, having to knock out thirty empty bottles just to squeeze out.

A large shed-like structure was erected. Their band name was scrawled across the side in letters the size of a person.

"You will stay in here in your down time. The festival starts tomorrow, so just use this time to get settled. Rehearsals will begin in about three hours." Urahara went down a list before saying goodbye.

Soul Reaper raided their dressing rooms and got comfortable.

After a while Urahara arrived at the door with a beaming smile on his face. "Hi guys! Just thought you would want to see this!" He handed out flyers to each member. It was a poster for death-fest with a list of the line-up. The headliners names were written in huge letters with the lesser known bands names written in gradually smaller font. Although it was written in tiny font, it was instantly recognisable.

"There we are!!" Grimmjow yelled.

"Yep, you are on the ads. You may not be as huge as the headliners, but you are worthy to have your name placed beneath theirs. Congratulations." Urahara extended a hand for Ichigo to shake, but instead, the fiery haired boy charged into him and gave him a hug. While Kisuke was being constricted, the rest of the group read through the line-up.

"Geez...This is going to be huge! We're going to playing beside the gods." Renji studied the big names.

"We're actually going to meet these people?" Rukia asked. Urahara nodded and Rukia squealed. "Oh mygodohmygodohmy-"

"Shut up!" Kenpachi growled and Rukia fell silent and retreated to her dressing room.

Urahara broke the awkward silence. "Rehearsals are in ten minutes so get ready!"

And they did, with hyperactive excitement.

*****

Soul Reaper assembled near the stage. An army of roadies were setting up. The stage was still getting constructed and lights were being calibrated. People were hanging up banners and signs and others were soundchecking or curling up wires and plugging in amps and a load of other little jobs.

The band watched on quietly. The first of the rehearsals was about to start. A man on a loudspeaker yelled out instructions.

"Alright, the stage is done for now. Let's get this done and over with. Alright send out the first band."

The lights went down and the roadies scurried off of the stage like cockroaches when the lights are turned on. A tense silence lasts for about a minute before they stepped out onto the stage.

Ichigo gasped and Rukia looked over to him. "Is it really them?" She asked.

"In the flesh." Ichigo answered. "That's Arch Enemy!"

The band and the hundreds of roadies all cheered and bellowed as loud as they could.

The man on the loudspeaker gave instruction to where the band members should enter from and where to stand. They listened intently and then went to their positions.

"YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" Ichigo roared, before anything happened.

They played 'Beast of Man' first up and then went through a ten song set ending with the crowd pleaser 'We Will Rise'. The roadie army cheered and waited for the next band.

Again, the man on the loudspeaker gave instructions. "Alright, go!"

"IN FLAAAAAAMES!!!" Grimmjow screamed as they walked out from behind a large black curtain. In Flames greeted the crowd and then played their set, beginning with 'The Mirrors Truth' and then finishing with their self titled song. The crowd only cheered louder.

This went on for about five hours. A band would come out, be ordered around and then play ten songs. After the bands Heaven Shall Burn, Dimmu Borgir, Killswitch Engage, Soilwork and Lamb of God, the headliners for the day were done. Next up were smaller bands.

Urahara called out to Soul Reaper a few songs in and waved them over to the stage. "You are on next, so get ready!"

"Alright, let's do this!" Ichigo roared while raising a fist. The others followed suit and they made their way backstage where their instruments were checked and set up. They listened as the shorter set ended and then a bunch of roadies began patting their backs and muttering things to them. Their excitement drowned it out until they began ushering them onstage.

Ichigo walked out and scanned the huge area. An area bigger than six football fields stretched on almost as far as the eye could see. He became lost in the spectacle and was disrupted by the loudspeakers angry growl.

"Hey! I said to start!!"

Ichigo glanced back to the others and whispered a song name to them. They all nodded and then began, opening with 'I See Red'. They then did three other songs from their album before doing 'Hollow'. The roadies cheered and a group waved at them to exit the stage. It was easier than they thought, but that was only because a few hundred roadies were watching. Tomorrow, when thousands of faces would be staring at them, it would be different...

Soul Reaper headed backstage and went back to their dressing room. The rehearsals for the first day were done and eventually the second and third day's acts would be rehearsing. The performances could be heard back at the dressing rooms and they took the rest of the day off to relax and mellow out to some heavy metal.

*****

The next day was the big day. It was only five in the morning and already there was a pilgrimage of thousands of weary metal-heads. Although they tried to be quiet, the united sound of hundreds of tents being set up and the light footsteps of a million feet were an impossible cacophony to sleep through.

Soul Reaper got up and met in the main room of their trailer which was a living room/kitchen. They had strong coffee and chowed down on a large portion of their pantry and fridge. Ichigo blew through two large bottles of water and rehearsed in the bathroom mirror. Kenpachi did stretches for his arms and legs and Renji flexed and cracked his fingers. Rukia watched him and then repeated his movements. Grimmjow did similar finger exercises.

After that, they heard a knock on the door. A herd of make-up artists were tapping their feet impatiently outside the door. Ichigo led them in and the hour long ordeal began. Their flesh was paled and their eyes surrounded in dark black corpse paint. When the basics were done, the individual styles were completed.

Ichigo grinned with his skeletal face and bared his real teeth as well as the painted ones.

Grimmjow studied the green/blue marks on the lower corners of his eyes.

Kenpachi argued with his wardrobe person. He insisted that fake blood just be poured on him while the slightly nervous man tried to do a well organised job. They bickered for twenty minutes until it was finished. Kenpachi snarled at the smaller man who ran off with fearful tears in his eyes.

Renji waited while the finishing touches were made to the hooked lines coming down from his eyes.

Rukia squealed in delight at her face which was painted to resemble something like a creepy doll. She pretended to be a puppet, moving on imaginary strings and then fell over laughing.

The rest of the band got suited up in their bullet belts, studded shin pads, spiked wristbands and all the rest of their gear. As per usual, Rukia took four times longer to get ready, eventually deciding on a black singlet with only a few strings covering her back and an open neck. This was coupled with a dark blue skirt. They split up briefly as they headed back to their private dressing rooms and picked up their equipment.

When they were all set they headed to the green room, which was really white (LIES!!!) Inside were two bands: In Flames and the show starters, Arch Enemy. Both were seated on low leather couches, having a few drinks and chatting quietly.

Ichigo froze in the doorway. He almost salivated and fell to his knees. "I'm...really meeting them..."

The In flames vocalist, Anders Friden, glanced over at Ichigo and cocked his head. "Are you alright?"

Ichigo began to giggle like a schoolgirl before nodding hyperactively with the repeated phrase, "Yeah."

"Are you...drooling?" Ichigo snapped his head in the direction of the words. He stared at Micheal Amott, the lead guitarist of Arch Enemy. The red-haired man looked around nervously as Ichigo stared unflinchingly at him. Micheal laughed sheepishly and then rose to his feet, taking his Tyrant Bloodstorm with him. "Well, it was nice to meet you. We've got to go out now, so see you later." With that he left, the rest of the band followed, sending confused looks back at Ichigo.

"Great job idiot!" Grimmjow slapped Ichigo on the back of the head. "You scared them off you retard!"

Ichigo apologised feebly while the members of In Flames watched with wide eyes. Ichigo looked up to them and apologised again.

"He's the only dumb one." Renji said. "We are normal."

"Shut up! I'm pretty sure you've been dead for a few hundred years!" Ichigo yelled defensively. Everyone went tight lipped except for Grimmjow.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing." Ichigo turned away.

"What are you hiding from me?!" Grimmjow asked. He turned around and realised In Flames had left now as well. He turned back and grabbed Ichigo by the collar. "Tell me what you've been hiding! We can't keep secrets any more! We're friends aren't we? It's about time you let me in on your group secret."

Ichigo bowed his head. "You wouldn't understand."

"Sure I would! What kind of idiot do you take me for?" Grimmjow glared at the others who retreated back against the wall, excluding Kenpachi who stomped up to him and snatched Ichigo out of his grip.

"We'll tell you later!" The giant warrior growled. "Until then, shut up!" If Grimmjow had a tail it would be between his legs right now. He submitted and sat on a couch and looked away from the group in a feeble display of anger.

"Look, this is going to get ugly, so let's save this childish shit for _after _our set, huh?" Rukia stepped up, sounding like a mother.

"Fine!" Grimmjow growled.

"Fine!" Snarled Kenpachi.

Ichigo sighed at their stupidity and nodded.

"Good." Rukia muttered. "Now we'll give these people the best damn show they've ever had...and then we'll tear each others throats out."

"YEAH!!" They all cheered.

Oh no! Can Soul Reaper overlook their petty problems and do a good show, or will they absolutely f** up like many bands unfortunately have done in the past? There's only one way to find out! Read the next chapter!

Now review. Come on! Do it!! REVIEW!!!


	12. 12: Deathfest II

**Track 12: Deathfest II**

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of any of the bands, songs, or actual people. All rights go to their respective owners. So don't bitch.

Soul reaper formed a shaky truce and headed backstage where they could hear Arch Enemy perfectly.

The Swedish/German death metallers stormed through their set, sending the crowd into a frenzy. As per usual, their live sound is of god-like quality and everyone is roaring and cheering so loud that it could cause an earthquake. 'Nemesis' ends with howling cries for more...and that's exactly what they get. Arch enemy perform 'Taking Back My Soul' and then finish up with 'We Will Rise'. The crowd jumps up and down in a surreal human wave s the final solo rings out through the gigantic amps. They then add in the live version of 'Fields Of Desolation'. On the final chord a small pyro blast adds that extra bit of awesomeness to the set.

Everyone applauds cheers and raises their fists in celebration. Then they await the next band.

The intro to 'Cloud Connected' plays on a synth and heads rise as they recognise the tune. Suddenly, a rain of fire hails down from the top of the stage and when the sparks disappear, the band is standing there on-stage. A large curtain with the In Flames logo falls behind them and they start their set with a bang...literally. After doing a bunch of their classics like 'Colony' and 'Episode 666' they progress through their musical evolution into their very different new era with 'My Sweet Shadow' 'Trigger' and 'The Mirrors Truth'. Even though it sounds like three different bands have played the one set, the crowd embraces both the old and new material with open arms. They chant along with the choruses and scream bloody murder when Anders reaches the insanely high shrieks he has mastered over the years. The performance ends with a song from their first album, their own self titled song, 'In Flames'. Anders steps down from the stage and the lead singer from Dark Tranquillity steps in for this number. The guest appearance makes the crowd go insane and they continue onto the end on good form.

Things are going well. The two headliners have made the crowd high on the irresistible drug that is metal.

Next on stage are the lesser known Heaven Shall Burn. A soft piano plays for a whole minute as the band tenses, and so do the crowd. They know what is about to happen and their breath catches in their lungs as they wait. The piano get's louder. The lead singer approaches his mic and grins. Then...

"!!!!"

The crowd squeals delightedly and a mosh pit starts instantly. Ichigo stares at the display in awe. "Holy shit! That was incredible!"

"One day, that will happen to us." Rukia reassured him, patting his shoulder with a pale hand.

They then watch on as the 5 minute epic 'Endziet' nears its end.

"WE ARE! WE ARE! WE ARE THE FINAL ONES! WE ARE! WE ARE...THE FINAL RESISTANCE!!" The crowd sings along, well not sing, more roar like wild animals. The piano plays a short outro and the crowd calms down to catch their breath. The guards at the front of the stage get out hoses and spray water on the dehydrated fans.

Next up is 'Counterweight'. In the first second the drums blast furiously in a display of skill and rage. More mosh pits form throughout the song and they continue throughout the set which ends with ''.

The tired moshers take a breather while roadies come out and sound check equipment again. It seems like the roadies are buying time...and they are, because the next band are still in make-up. The crowd wait expectantly. They try and guess who is next and shout out random band names in hopes that it will force the next headliner out of hiding.

One roadie sprays something on a steel frame which can't be recognised at the moment. It just looks like a twisted mass of steel. The roadies then hurry of-stage and thick fog drifts across the stage. The front row coughs as the smoke machine blows their way. An ochestraic piece plays and the crowd fall silent. A group of silhouettes rise from the fog and approach their positions on-stage. On of them is holding a torch. He walks to the edge of the stage where he can be seen, fully clad in corpse-paint and with spiked armbands and shin pads. It is Shagrath, the lead singer of the black metal giant that is Dimmu Borgir. He scowls at the audience and roars making them step back fearfully. He then grins and hurls the torch at the steel frame. The flames catch onto the frame and light up, revealing it to be a pentagram made of steel pipes.

The orchestra is toned down and a powerful blast beat thunders out from the drums. A shockwave is created, knocking the front row of the crowd down. 'The Serpentine Offering' is performed exceptionally well. Then they play 'Blessings Upon The Throne Of Tyranny', an epic 6 minute masterpiece of blasphemy and skill. They continue on through a few of their earlier songs, ending with a recent one, 'The Chosen Legacy'. The crowd is very pleased and follow along in the harsh screams of Shagrath.

"In Sorte...Diaboli!" The crowd screams as Hellhammers blast beats become so impossibly fast that the crowd worship his talent and bow their heads as he finishes the amazing feat and the song goes on. Right at the end the band members all spread their arms and a ring of fire bursts into life around them. It is an equally amazing spectacle to watch, as to hear it.

Killswitch Engage come out next, showing off stuff from their newer albums as well as a few classics. Unfortunately, they fail to top Dimmu Borgir who raised the bar too high for anyone to surpass. Nonetheless, the crowd loves them.

Soilwork start off with a new song and then go back to their more aggressive days with songs from their first album. They then progress up to newer material, ending with 'Rejection Role'.

Finally, Lamb of God, the last headliner for the day bring their chaotic, rage-filled heavy metal to the masses. Their chunky riffs and catchy, yet almost indecipherable choruses entertain the crowd and mosh pits are aplenty as they charge through a set full of favourites from their best-selling album 'Wrath'. Randy Blythe's insane screams and furious roars have never sounded better and they breeze through the set, leaving the crowd exhausted from head banging so hard. As they finish off with the huge finale that is 'Reclamation' the crowd fail to do much as necks are sore, knees are weak and hangovers are already beginning to break down the crowd. A brave number of them struggle on and some fight for their front row spots as the more energetic try and claim it for themselves. The battle rages on until the end and then everyone settles.

The headliners have warmed up the crowd and then decimated them, but the smaller bands still have their chance in the spotlight. By now, the sun is gone and it is getting dark. The lesser known bands have a chance to rock the drunk metal heads to sleep.

Backstage, Soul Reaper nervously anticipated their chance at stardom. It was their big chance and they needed to blow the crowd away, or they will lose their reputation as the greatest thing to come out of Japan since anime.

Urahara appeared out of nowhere and grinned. "This is it guys! I know you're going to knock 'em dead!" He put his hand in the centre of the semi-circle formed by the band. Everyone stared at his hand and he sighed. "Come on!"

Grimmjow glared at the group and reluctantly put his hand over Urahara's. The others followed suit and then they raised their fists.

"Alright, I know we're hitting a rough patch, but we can beat the shit out of each other after this! We can't fuck this up or we will be ruined! Got it?!" Rukia asked, sounding like the mother of the band. Everyone nodded.

The crowd applauded and the current band departed the stage.

"Okay, let's show the world how to play metal!" Rukia worked up the band and they suddenly got their heads in the game. They cheered and ran out onstage.

The crowd looked at them and went silent. Only a few had heard of them and they were shouting out praise, but the majority had no clue. Ichigo began to shiver. He cleared his throat and looked to the others.

"Hey everybody...We...We are Soul Reaper...And this song is called 'Seeing Red'." He winced at his nervousness and then bowed his head. Rukia played a soft guitar into/lead while the bass struck long sustained chords behind it. The drums then kicked in, slowly hitting the bass drum every few seconds. Next, Renji added a palm muted chugging riff that got increasingly louder. The drums then did a drum roll on the snare and the heavy verse riff started.

The crowd were interested now. They began to head bang and wait for things to get better.

Ichigo's voice was shaky at the beginning, but the band ignored it and went on. The verse was a bit of a screw-up, but when the chorus came, Ichigo snapped out of his fear and gave them the show they wanted.

"I see blood on my hands, blood on the floor, blood on the fucking walls, is any more?! I see red!! I see red! I see Reeeeeeeed!" Ichigo growled, finally getting himself out of his nervous spell and throwing himself into the gig with everything he had.

A dual solo began and Ichigo worked up the crowd by raising devil horns and shouting at them. At the end of the solo, a heavy bridge started. The guitars spat out deep power chords and Ichigo growled even lower than normal. Then, all of a sudden he shrieked and a tremolo piece stretched on for a short while before the chorus returned. Ichigo couldn't help but smile. It was a shaky start, but he had successfully won over the crowd in the span of only a few minutes.

'I See Red' ended abruptly and they launched straight into the next song, 'Hunting For Souls' the song was about hollows, but only the shinigami knew about it. As far as the public and Grimmjow were concerned, it was about some kind of imaginary monster. The crowd got more excited and a small mosh pit formed, but it steadily grew until it was of considerable size. At the end of the song, Ichigo had a short chat with the crowd.

"So, who is your favourite band?" Ichigo asked. A lot of the roared responses were other bands, but a select few caught on and yelled out Soul Reaper. Ichigo laughed and pointed to the group who yelled it out. "Ha. See these guys get it! Come on! Who is your favourite band?!" Ichigo leaned forward and turned his ear to the crowd as they all roared in unison.

"SOUL REAPER!!!"

Ichigo clapped. "Damn right! Now do you want more?!"

"Yeah!!"

Ichigo repeated himself, this time growling.

"YEAH!!!

"I can't hear you!! Do you want MORE!!!" Ichigo goaded.

"FUCK YEAH!!!!!" The crowd screamed.

Ichigo nodded to the band. "Alright then!! Let's get crazy!!"

Grimmjow had his bass solo to begin with and then a brutal, chunky riff played over it. Ichigo pointed to the crowd.

"Come on!! I want to see some pits!!" they did as told and sure enough, three circle pits formed, slowly moving towards each other until they joined into a huge crowd of possessed people. Ichigo screamed, a sound that seemed to come straight from a horror movie.

"The Dead!!....ARE WALKING!!!! ARE HUNTING!!!" Ichigo screamed to the skies. "THEY ARE COMING FOR YOU!!!"

While the verse riff played alone, Ichigo began to swing his head in a circle. The lovely zombie-themed tune stuck with the crowd and by the third chorus they were singing along. Things were going perfectly, the crowd loved them. Soul Reaper were winning the favour of the crowd against the legends and pioneers of metal. When 'Zombie Apocalypse' ended, Ichigo gave his last speech to the audience.

"Who here knew about us before coming here today?" A few hands rose. "Who knows about us now?" Every hand went up, forming a fist, looking like an army of revolutionaries rather than a crowd. "Who out there is going to buy our album?!" Everyone roared in agreement. "We've got one last song for you. It is the first track and it's our favourite! Now I want to see every single head bang or I swear I will kick your ass!" The crowd laughed. "This song...Is entitled...HOLLOW!!!!"

The intense drum roll started and the crowd instantly went nuts. Once the chorus started, a great pyrotechnic display went off. The element of surprise made the band play more aggressively and the fans enjoyed it even more. By the time the solo started, Ichigo looked around and found a group of young women in the front row. He ran towards them and jumped, arms out in a Jesus Christ pose. He cleared the barrier fence this time and landed in the crowd. The girls threw him into the air and he giggled like an excited schoolgirl as he rode the human wave around the crowd.

Meanwhile, a spotlight had fallen over Rukia as she did her solo. She danced while she played, making it look more skilful. A group of fans began doing air guitar, struggling to follow her movements, but enjoying themselves anyway. Rukia smiled at them and they began to chatter amongst themselves excitedly.

Ichigo was thrown back at the foot of the stage and the guards hoisted him up onto the stage where he rushed to his feet to deliver the crushing final chorus. Starting with a bestial roar that would scare the shit out of a lion.

"I FEEL HOLOOOOOOOOOW!!!!" Ichigo roared, and then as the guitars did a solo, Ichigo sung the chorus. "Hollow! This hole inside! Hollow!! Taking over my mind! Hollow!!" Ichigo repeated it while the solo intensified and the high pitched shredding reached a new level. As the final part came closer, Ichigo smiled and raised his fist. The crowd did the same, and then he did it. "Hollow! This hole inside! Hollow! Taking over..." He took a deep breath and everyone stopped playing. The crowd looked around confused...Then...

"MY FUCKING MIIIIIIIIIIIIND!!!! GRRRAAAAAARGH!!" The song ended on a heavy chord. Everyone in the band bowed their head and the lights died. A silence ensued before the crowd cheered so loud it could be heard in the neighbouring cities.

Ichigo bowed, as did the others, then they left the stage. As soon as they were out of view, they laughed hysterically like a bunch of schoolgirls when a hot guy notices them. They giggled and made a moronic display of hyperactive excitement. Eventually they calmed down and did a more manly celebration of awesomeness.

"Fuck yeah!" They high fived each other, shook hands, gave hugs.

Rukia went to shake Ichigo's hand but the berry-head, drunk with awe grabbed her and locked lips. Rukia's eyes widened and she was shocked for a moment, but she eventually accepted it and contributed herself to the kiss.

Grimmjow and Renji glared at them, pissed that they missed the chance to do it themselves. Kenpachi was disinterested and walked back to the dressing room, rubbing his tired arms as he went.

Ichigo released Rukia and looked back to the stage. A grin the size of the Grand Canyon spread across his face and he snatched Rukia's hand before dragging her back out on stage. The crowd cocked their heads, confused. They were expecting the next band, but Ichigo wanted to let them see something.

Ichigo strolled up to the mic and took it off of the stand. "Everybody...I want you to meet Rukia Kuchiki. She is the greatest guitarist in the world! And she is also the greatest girl in the world!!" The crowd cheered, despite still being confused. "Rukia, I just wanted to take the chance...In front of all these people, my family! My heavy metal brothers and sisters...In front of them all, I just wanted to ask..." Ichigo got down on one knee and took off one of the rings on his hand. It was a silver ring with a skull that had ruby eyes.

Rukia stared at him, even more clueless than the crowd.

"Rukia, will you marry me?"

The world fell silent at that moment. Ichigo waited for a response...but the girl of his dreams fainted instead. Ichigo frowned as a trio of medics came out and put her on a stretcher before taking her away for the next band to perform. Ichigo looked around bewildered and then rushed after the medics.

*Sweatdrops* What the hell was that about? Ichigo's sudden proposal has knocked Rukia out. Thankfully, their set is already over. But what will happen next? Will Rukia say yes or no and how will that affect the band, on account of the fact that nearly everyone in the band is after Rukia's love. read on to find out!

I hope the headliners I chose were good enough for you. I reccomend them if you've never heard of them. Don't worry if your favourites haven't arrived yet, as there is still another few days of Death-Fest (It is a festival after all!) If you have any suggestions, tell me, though I still have many in mind. 

Review. Do it, you stingy prick! You came this far!


	13. 13: Deathfest III

It's been a while since the last update, but here is the next chapter! Enjoy and review!

**Track 13: Deathfest III**

They were a hit. They had blown the crowd away and they gave a show the crowd would never forget. It was so awesome. Now it had gone horribly, horribly wrong. The blood had rushed to Ichigo's head, like a hoon in the driver's seat of a speeding car. Testosterone kicked in and he did the dumbest thing he possibly could. He barged out onstage in the middle of someone's set and proposed to Rukia.

The desired effect would have been for her to giggle like a ten year old girl around a pony and to then squeal the magic word and they would hook up in front of thousands of metal-heads. It was a good plan, or at least it was at the time, but things took a turn for the worse and instead of the girlish laughter, she gasped and fainted.

And now here he was, sitting in a small white walled room by her bedside. A doctor was checking her over.

Ichigo wanted to laugh at the fact that the 'doctor' had a red mohawk and was covered in tattoos, but the mood made it impossible.

The punk doctor turned to Ichigo and frowned. "She got one hell of a shock, but she is in fine condition. She'll probably be up in an hour or two, if not a day at the most."

"Thank you." Ichigo muttered.

"No problem...So...While we're here..." The doctor took out a piece of paper and a permanent marker. "Could you please put your signature here?"

"Sure- Wait!" Ichigo held up the flyer for the gig. "This is an ad for Death-Fest!"

"Oh yeah, I lost the medical forms and the new ones are still being printed out. I can just copy the signature onto the form later."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "If you're that desperate for an autograph..."

"No! That would be silly!" The man started laughing hysterically for ten seconds straight before stopping abruptly and speaking in a dead-pan voice. "Yeah...I want an autograph."

Ichigo groaned and signed the flyer before handing it back to the doctor whose eyes suddenly lit up like sparklers.

"Thanks!" The man then rushed off out of the infirmary leaving Ichigo alone with Rukia.

"Damn! What was I thinking?!" Ichigo pinched the bridge of his nose and cursed under his breath. "I'm such an idiot!"

A light knock came at the door and Ichigo glanced over his shoulder at Urahara. "How is she?" The blonde man asked, his hat lowered to hide his face.

"She's okay, but the doctor-" Ichigo couldn't help but smile thinly. "He said she could be out between two hours of a whole day."

"Well, a days rest will do her good." Urahara said happily. "So...You were serious back there?"

Ichigo's eyes widened. "What kind of question is that? Of course I was serious! You don't do that as a joke!"

"I was just asking, no need to get angry. But I came here to tell you, that you are a genius!"

"Huh?"

Urahara removed his hat and revealed a wide grin. "You've made the audience's heart's melt and now they love you even more! In fact in the past ten minutes the merchandise stands have sold out all your albums!"

"I didn't do it for publicity Urahara. I love her and I wanted to make a big scene, to share it with my metal brothers and sisters." Ichigo explained seriously.

"Well, it's great that you love each other, but if you follow my advice you could become richer beyond your wildest dreams!"

Ichigo closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm listening."

"Well, what you can do, is tomorrow, when the next set of headliners are up, you can intrude again and this time you can get her to say yes and then kiss and hug and whatever. Anyway, fireworks go off, the crowd roars, everyone loves it! You sell millions of records! How does that sound?" Urahara leaned in close awaiting the answer.

"Isn't that sort of fake? I mean I already tried and failed. It would just be re-enacting it by a script. It wouldn't be romantic at all."

"But it doesn't matter! You are engaged! You can re-live the moment a thousand times if you want!"

"But I don't want to do it a thousand times." Ichigo growled.

"Well, do it just once more! Tomorrow, in front of all your fans. I promise, it will be a beautiful moment!" Urahara insisted.

Ichigo looked down at Rukia and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "Fine. I'll do it. Now get out of my sight."

"Of course. You need to be alone, I understand." The strange man snuck out of the room and immediately afterwards there was another knock at the door.

Three men walked in and sat down with Ichigo without a word. It was Renji, Grimmjow and Kenpachi. Renji and Grimmjow wore angry scowls, Kenpachi looked disinterested.

"She's fine." Ichigo answered the question before it was asked.

"All this for a publicity stunt." Grimmjow snarled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo cocked his head.

"You're a real dick-head! You know that?!" Grimmjow yelled.

"What's wrong with you?"

"You always kept things from me. That was bad enough but I tried to deal with it! Now you have made an ass out of yourself while stealing my woman!!"

"Your woman?" Ichigo said incredulously. "You haven't even known her for half as long as I have!"

"And I've know her ten times longer than Ichigo has!" Renji interrupted.

"You're all fucking nuts..." Zaraki grumbled before rising to his feet. "I'll fight the winner." He muttered as he trudged outside.

"Let me get this straight? You two are jealous of me?" Ichigo asked his two band-mates.

"Of course!" They answered in unison. They then looked to each other and roared again in unison. "Shut up!"

"Oh for Christs sake!" Ichigo slapped his forehead. "What are we? A bunch of four year olds?"

"We're supposed to be friends!" Renji shouted. "And Rukia can't be shared around like a toy! She should decide who she cares for the most!"

"Yeah!" Grimmjow agreed. "We don't need some pompous ass with piss in his hair to tell us who she loves."

"Shut the fuck up Grimmjow!!" Ichigo rose to his feet and grabbed him by the collar.

"What'cha gonna do Ichigo? Rukia won't like a violent man." He grinned smugly and Ichigo punched him square in the face. Grimmjow was flung back into a medical tray and he caused it to fall over, smashing glasses and beakers and scattering the other tools all over the floor. Grimmjow wiped blood from his nose and stared at Ichigo.

"Guys, calm down!" Renji tried to step between them, but Grimmjow shoved him aside. He then lunged at Ichigo and hurled furious punches at his former friend. Ichigo drove his knee into Grimm's gut and then threw him off into the wall, but his foe rushed back and counter-attacked with a kick to Ichigo's ribs.

Renji tried to drag Grimmjow off, but the enraged bass player struck out with his fist, catching Renji in the jaw and making him stagger into Rukia's bed.

"You bastard!" Ichigo roared as he karate chopped Grimmjow's shin. He fell to his knees and became eye level with Ichigo. He then head butted the vocalist out of revenge. The two began to grapple each other on the floor, all the while; a heavy song from an unknown band drowned them out.

Renji ran off to find security but stopped in the doorway when a glint of metal caught the corner of his eye. He spun slowly and watched Grimmjow charge at Ichigo with a scalpel raised above his head.

"NO!!!" Grimmjow ran over and tackled Grimmjow before he could attack. As he tried to get up he felt a stabbing pain in his back. He reached around to his back and yanked out the small object. It was the scalpel.

Grimmjow looked apologetic and he held his hands up to shield himself. "I'm sorry man1 I never meant to-"

"YOU STABBED ME!!!" Renji screamed, going over the edge. He began throwing thunderous punches at Grimmjow who was trapped. All he could do was spit out the blood that pooled in his mouth as he was pummelled.

After a while, Ichigo yanked him off and everyone stopped fighting. They all fell to the floor and panted heavily. All were bloodied and looked a frightful mess.

"What the fuck...just happened?!" Ichigo wheezed.

Grimmjow was almost out cold. His eyes glared lazily at the others in the room and he lay back, his chest rising and falling slowly.

"I think we need to talk." Renji murmured. "Before we kill each other..." He added.

It was late now and the bands had stopped performing and the drunken crowds were shuffling back to tents and blankets or just sleeping on the grass. Day one was over...

*****

DEATHFEST – DAY TWO

The set-up for the day was different now. The lesser known bands would wake the crowd and soothe their hangovers until they were ready for the headliners who would perform in the afternoon. A bunch of unknowns dressed in clothes that seemed to come from the Matrix began playing a set of dark gothic music but with bestial growls and snarls from the lead singer who looked like he had only just woken up.

As the gig went on, the members of Soul Reaper (Excluding Rukia) gathered in a green room with Urahara and a therapist. They were now patched up from their previous fight and determined to destroy the bad blood between them.

"Okay, now I want everyone to introduce themselves and tell the group their specific problem." The therapist said in a voice that was strangely mocking. "You can go first." He pointed to Ichigo.

"Oh, isn't that a surprise?" Grimmjow muttered snidely. "Why would he be first?"

"Sir, please quiet down. It will be your turn soon." The therapist said politely.

"Fuck turns! We aren't in preschool!! There's only one problem with this band and it's the fucking lies!!" Grimmjow rose to his feet and waved a hand at everyone present. "They are all in some weird cult or club or something and they have been hiding shit from me since the start!"

"We told you already, we'll discuss that when the time is right." Renji explained.

"NO! I want to know now!! If you can't overlook your stupid little code of silence to explain it to your friend, then you can go look for a new bass player!" Grimmjow folded his arms and glared at the group who all looked to each other nervously.

"So, this dishonest behaviour is making you feel uncomfortable, is it not?" The therapist asked. Grimmjow nodded.

"Ok. Well, I still want everyone to introduce themselves, just to get a clearer understanding of what's going on, so could you please start?"

"I'm Grimmjow and I'm pissed because I am left out of everything!"

"Good, now you." The therapist pointed to Ichigo.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki and my problem is that there are people here who are jealous of me."

"Bullshit!" Grimmjow interrupted. The therapist scolded him and Grimmjow went silent again.

"I'm Renji and my problem is that Ichigo thinks Rukia is wrapped around his finger when she loved me first!" Renji closed his eyes and calmed himself before sitting back down.

"I'm Zaraki and I don't need to be here."

The therapist shrugged and turned to Urahara.

"I'm Kisuke Urahara, the band's manager. My issue is that these guys have such great talent, but they are letting some silly little discrepancy get in the way of their success. As their manager, it feels like I'm failing them...They are like my children and...It's like I raised them wrong and they are going down the wrong path, you know?"

Everyone stared at him with wide eyes as the strange man began to cry.

"Urahara..." Ichigo began, but words failed him.

"It...It just feels like I've fucked up! As if I've destroyed something brilliant...And...And...I don't want this to end, because I've grown to like these guys. They're not just band-mates. They are my mates."

Everyone fell silent. It was awkwardly inspiring despite sounding so strange. Everyone looked around miserably and then nodded.

"We aren't just letting Urahara down...We're letting ourselves down. And worst of all, we're letting down all those people out there who look up to us. The people who bang their heads proudly every time they hear us play. The ones who feel inspired to follow in our footsteps when they get older...For their sake we can't ruin this!" Ichigo placed his hand in the centre of the group.

The others frowned at him. "We've done it so many times, but this time it's serious! Who's going to stick with Soul Reaper forever?"

Urahara instantly put his hand down, then Renji and Kenpachi.

Grimmjow glared at them and hesitantly put his hand down. They then gave a triumphant battle-cry as they let go.

The therapist grinned and rose to his feet. "Well, my work here is done. I'll leave you to discuss matters alone." He departed swiftly and as soon as the door closed, all eyes fell on Grimmjow.

Ichigo sighed and clasped his hands together. "We've kept it from you long enough. Once we tell you, it is important that you never tell anyone about it! I want you to promise me that before we begin!"

"I promise. I'll keep my mouth shut as long as we can get this done!"

Everyone nodded and Ichigo took a deep breath. "Good...Grimmjow, it's time to tell you...About what Soul Reaper really means."

This isn't good. The anger in the band has increased ten-fold and the tension has raised as well. Will they be able to overcome their many problems and continue to rock on? Or will their time in the spotlight be tragically cut short?! read on to find out!

Please review!


	14. 14: Deathfest IV

It was a bit of a wait, but here is the next chapter. Enjoy and review! Also, I hope you like the next bunch of headliners.

**Track 14: Deathfest IV**

Day two had kicked off to a lazy start, with the assorted metal heads in the crowd awaking from their coma-like sleep with hangovers unlike any they had experienced before. Headaches abounded, but that did not stop them, as the music started early.

Small name bands played loud enough to wake the snoozing drunks and soon a considerable crowd had gathered at the foot of the stage.

Some stood valiantly and banged their heads, while others, succumbing to the pain of a hangover had to sit on the grass or lie in their tents with their heavy head turned towards the stage.

Meanwhile, the much needed therapy session for Soul reaper was coming to an end. A truce had been called and those assembled had decided it was time to come clean.

Ichigo, Renji and Urahara shared uneasy glances and then sighed in unison. Ichigo leaned forwards and his gaze bore through Grimmjow in a way that made the blue-haired man shiver.

"Grimmjow...It's time we told you the true meaning of Soul Reaper..." Ichigo said in a stern tone as the others nodded.

Grimmjow stared dumbstruck at them, not sure what to expect.

"What happens when you die?" Ichigo asked suddenly.

Grimmjow looked around confused and shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? What has this got to do with any-?"

"I know." Ichigo said. "We all do. It is one aspect of our secret."

"What? You've got to be joking!" Grimmjow scowled at them. Ichigo raised a hand and signalled for quiet.

"It's true. In fact you and I are the only living people in this room right now." Ichigo said matter-of-factly.

"What kind of crap is this?! You expect me to believe that?! Then what are these people? Ghosts?!"

"Pretty much." Ichigo murmured.

"Oh, right, so I'm in a band with a bunch of ghosts. Yeah that makes sense doesn't it? Grimmjow said with as much sarcasm as he possibly could. "Do I look like a fucking idiot?!"

Ichigo suddenly passed out and Grimmjow jumped in his seat. He stared at Ichigo's motionless body, his face gone pale. "What just happened?!" He looked to the others who all suddenly fell to the floor. Grimmjow screamed and backed up against the wall. "What the fuck?! Everyone just...they just…"

"We died." Ichigo's voice came from above. Grimmjow shrieked and looked around frenziedly.

"Where are you?! How are you doing that?!"

A strange sensation suddenly was felt on Grimmjow's shoulder and he swatted at what he assumed was a fly, only to hit something hard, like steel. He drew his hand back and realised there was a cut on his palm. His eyes widened and he jumped back.

"What is this?!"

"You cannot see us in our true form." Renji explained. "But..." Renji's body suddenly jolted and Grimmjow yelped. "If we enter these bodies we can interact with humans."

"You...You really are..."

"We aren't ghosts. We are Shinigami." Ichigo revealed as he returned to his body and sat back on the couch.

"Death gods? But..." Grimmjow trailed off; unable to form the question he desired to ask.

"We are the soldiers of the afterlife. We harvest the souls of the dead and send them safely to Soul Society, hence the nickname 'Soul Reaper'." Ichigo watched his friends face turn from confused to lost.

Grimmjow was left in silence to process what he had been told and what he had just experienced. After a long, awkward period of silence Grimmjow looked at the group with a frown.

"If you are really the soldiers of the afterlife...Then why are you in a band?"

Ichigo chuckled before patting Grimmjow on the back. "Just because we are gods of death doesn't mean we can't have some time off!" Everyone laughed except for Grimmjow who was still lost in the dark.

The blue haired bass player shook his head and stared blankly at the floor. "I must be high..."

"This is all real." Renji reassured him.

"Well...What about Rukia?"

"She is one of us. Unfortunately she can't be here right now because she's still in the infirmary. Speaking of which, she could be waking up soon so we really need to go." Ichigo got to his feet but Grimmjow dragged him back down.

"Wait! There's still more I want to know!"

"You've learned enough for now. Wrap your head around that for now and we'll tell you some more tomorrow."

Grimmjow watched them all go and then sat frozen in his chair, lost in his thoughts.

*****

Meanwhile, on the main stage, the first headliner of the day was about to take the stage. The crowd waited as roadies re-checked everything and two amps were replaced, having been worn out from the musical assault of the past day and a half.

A loud rumble blares out from the towering speakers and the crowd chants quietly, guessing names for the band about to appear.

All of a sudden a horn blares and a group of men walk onstage in thick cloaks. The bearded men carry with them assorted weapons and raise them high as they roar something.

The crowd instantly recognise them as they remove the cloaks and take up their instruments. They are the Norse gods of Viking metal, Amon Amarth. The name is chanted by the crowd as the fast paced intro of 'Twilight of the thunder god' is played. The band begin their relentless tale of Thor and his battles with a sea serpent, accompanied by heavy guitars, explosive drums and roared in the deep growls of Johan Hegg. An incredible shredding solo interrupts the song and leads into the final chorus which has the crowd singing along.

Next they play 'Cry of the blackbirds'. Some excited moshers have a miniature war while the song goes on.

The Vikings then continue with a set comprising mainly of their new songs ending with 'Embrace of the endless ocean', the harrowing tale of a proud Viking who dies out at sea. The crowd give a disappointed sigh as they leave the stage, but they are quickly worked up in excitement as the next headliners prepare to enter.

The recorded sounds of gunfire explode out of the speakers and a large banner falls down from the ceiling. It is a picture of 'the guy' standing inside a blazing fire. The name at the top arouses a cheer from the crowd that is loud enough to make the ground shake.

A bald man walks out on stage. Two rings are in his chin, both bounce with each step he takes. He approaches the front and raises a first. The crowd cries out as a drummer take sup his position and two others walk out, one armed with a bass, the other a six string guitar. The battle sounds cease and a manic drumming piece is performed while the guitarists do what they do best.

Before the vocals start, David Draiman roars to the crowd. "WE ARE DISTURBED!!!"

The crowd instantly goes crazy and 'Indestructible' starts with crushing intensity. The modern gods of heavy metal, Disturbed, perform an energetic set with recent hits like 'Inside the fire' and 'The night' as well as the unforgettable classics like 'Down with the sickness' and 'The game'. They also add in lesser known songs such as 'Overburdened', 'Haunted' and 'Avarice'.

"Perfect Insanity' is a definite crowd pleaser and it warms them up perfectly for the grand finale, 'Ten thousand fists' which involves some obvious crowd participation. As the ten thousand fists rise into the air a combined roar escapes from the crowd and the set ends with a short pyro display.

Things are going exceptionally well and next up it's time for some extreme metal. Cradle of Filth take the stage and bring their unique brand of metal to the stage. There is no genre to describe them except for Cradle of Filth. The crazy Brits are their own genre and they have perfected it and brought it to the stage in a magnificent display with pyro displays abound.

*****

Meanwhile backstage, there is a different kind of fireworks going off. Tucked away in the small infirmary/store room, Ichigo sat beside Rukia, awaiting her return to consciousness.

Urahara entered the room and Ichigo glared at him.

"Oh, it's you." He snarled.

Urahara raised his hands defensively. "Hey, I'm your friend aren't I?"

"I already know why you came here. You're a snake Urahara!" Ichigo had not looked up from Rukia once the entire time.

"I thought you agreed? It's just one little favour I'm asking for. I'm not asking you to do anything wrong."

"No, it's just a stupid sham wedding in front of my fans just for a little publicity." Ichigo said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry if you feel upset, but you don't seem to understand what it could mean for you!" Urahara frowned.

"Oh yeah! I can be on the cover of a magazine and we might get a few extra record sales because our marriage was so sweet. What an amazing life. We're really stepping up!" Ichigo went on, still with much sarcasm.

"You said you would do it. I don't want to be disappointed Ichigo." Urahara sounded serious.

"What will you do if I refuse?"

"Oh, I don't know, but it wouldn't be good..." Urahara said menacingly.

"Like what? Dropping us from the label? We'll just get signed to a new one in a few days and we'll be back where we were before."

"No, nothing as trivial as that. But...I've noticed that one great way to get publicity...Is to have one of the members die!" Urahara grinned evilly and Ichigo's eyes narrowed. He approached Urahara and grabbed his collar, lifting him off of his feet. Ichigo's eyes blazed with hatred and he resisted the urge to kill Urahara just long enough to warn him.

"If you dare try and harm one of us I will not hold back! I will kill you and I mean it!" Ichigo growled.

Urahara chuckled and gave a grin so sickening it made Ichigo shiver. "What if it were an accident?"

Ichigo had finally gone over boiling point and punched Kisuke right in the face, knocking him to the floor.

The band manager crawled back to his feet and licked his bleeding lips as he strolled casually to the doorway. "Don't disappoint me Kurosaki. Bad things could happen...and we both don't like bad things...Bye." With those parting words, Urahara left.

Ichigo slumped down in the chair beside Rukia's bed and he contemplated his next move. Urahara was as clever as a fox and it wouldn't be good to disobey him for now. Unfortunately, it seemed he would have to go ahead with the fake marriage...His friends lives depended on it!

*****

Meanwhile, back on the stage, Cradle of Filth ended their set with 'Babylon A.D' and when they were done, the corpse-painted heroes returned backstage, accompanied by artificial fog and smoke.

Next up were the American Death metallers Kataklysm. They started with 'Prevail' and followed through with a set of their more current songs before ending with a few classics like 'Serenity in fire' and 'Sorcery'. The crowd are thrown into a frenzy of circle pits and people are getting hurt in the process. When their set ends with the relentless fury of 'Blood in heaven' the crowd are beaten so badly that some have to retire to their camps early to lick their wounds.

There are a brave few who still bang their heads despite bleeding from the nose and mouth, or with lumps on their heads, or covered in bruises. Those lucky enough to not have entered the pits are thankful and celebrate their good health, only to realise they are still suffering from agonizing hangovers.

There is a break for a few minutes as the roadies again check over and replace equipment. When they scurry offstage the lights go down and several figures take the stage.

*****

Inside the infirmary, Ichigo studied Rukia's calm expression which suddenly moved. The young woman blinked softly and Ichigo jumped up from his chair. Rukia's eyelid fluttered and eventually opened halfway. She looked dazedly towards Ichigo and her mouth curved up in a smile.

"Rukia..." Ichigo smiled, unable to keep in his joy.

"I will." She whispered.

"Huh?"

"I will...Marry you." Rukia lifted her head and kissed Ichigo briefly. She then lay back and groaned. "What happened?"

"You passed out. Oh, I'm so glad you're awake!" Ichigo suddenly froze. He spun around to face the doorway but saw nothing there.

_I swore I could feel someone watching us..._

"What's wrong?" Rukia asked, bringing Ichigo back to reality.

"Nothing..." Ichigo sighed and realised what had to be done. "Rukia...It's show time!"

There is something strange about Urahara...What is he planning? Was he serious about his threats? 

I hope you enjoyed that, Please review!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the bands mentioned, or the songs. their rights go to their respective owners. But if you have never heard of the bands mentioned check them out, they are all awesome!


	15. 15: Deathfest V

**Track 15: Deathfest V**

The lights dimmed and the roadies went about their tasks with great haste. They were preparing for a special performance involving a comeback show for a widely known metal band.

Someone began speaking through a microphone while hiding backstage.

"Hey everybody! We have a very special guest for you tonight. Let me just ask you something..." there was a brief silence then the speaker roared into the microphone. "Who loves Sonic Syndicate?"

The crowd cheered in response and fists and devil horns were raised in an almost military-like salute.

"Well, tonight we are not only going to see them perform...But someone has arrived just for this show! Can you guess who it is?" The question aroused confused glances from the crowd who chattered quietly amongst themselves. "The very special guest...Is Roland Johansson!!"

Applause and excited screams spread throughout the crowd, overwhelmed by the reunion of the ex-vocalist.

The man himself came out on stage and roared an indecipherable greeting. Everyone roared back, raising their fists and cheering as loud as humanly possible. While the crowd warmed to his presence, the rest of the band walked out and shook hands with their former band-mate. When the greetings were done and over with, everyone took up their positions and the keyboard intro to 'Only inhuman' blared out the speakers.

The assorted band members all tensed and then the song began with furious, rage filled bursts of short blast beats. The guitars growled in deep distorted tones and soon things were under way.

Roland gave his clean vocals while Richard Sjunnesson screamed his lungs out. The guitarists jumped about frenziedly as they played. The bands intense energy flowed into the crowd and circle pits quickly formed. Even those injured in the previous sets had returned for more.

Things were going perfectly when suddenly two figures stumbled out onstage.

MOMENTS AGO

Ichigo dragged Rukia through the backstage areas while she screamed in protest.

"Where are we going?! Let go of me!!"

"Just shut up and follow me!" Ichigo yelled over her. His mind was battling with several concepts; the most troubling was Urahara's threats. The man was a puzzle. It was impossible to tell if he was joking or not, but Ichigo sure as hell didn't want to find out. He would do as he said for now.

"Ichigo, that's the stage over there! What are you doing?"

Ichigo pushed Rukia out into the open and then stumbled out after her.

The loud music suddenly cut off and the roars stopped as well, creating a silence that was actually painful. Thousands of eyes were glued to the two intruders and the band members crossed their arms impatiently.

Ichigo dragged the reluctant Rukia closer to the centre and then he cleared his throat before asking for a microphone.

Roland rolled his eyes and hurled it to him.

"Um...I'm sorry to interrupt, but...Uh..." Ichigo felt the sweat pour down his face and he wiped at it nervously. "I...I just wanted to take this chance...In front of all of you...My metal brothers and sisters..." He trailed off and kneeled before Rukia. "Rukia Kuchiki...Will you rock my world?"

Rukia's jaw dropped and she remained silent. She then glanced at the sea of stunned faces. She frowned at Ichigo. "Sorry, what's the question again?"

Ichigo sweat-dropped and smiled weakly. "Rukia...Will you marry me?" He crossed his fingers before he finished and he watched Rukia's mouth curve up into a beaming smile.

Her deep blue eyes sparkled and she giggled like a schoolgirl before jumping up and down on the spot screaming, "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Wolf whistles, cheers and applause came from the crowd and although it felt like a studio audience for a television sitcom, Ichigo suddenly felt happier than ever before. He looked to the crowd and raised a fist.

"I'M IN!!!"

Rukia pounced on Ichigo and they shared a passionate kiss before thousands of overjoyed metal heads. A small fireworks display went off and an earth-splitting applause exploded out of the crowd.

Sonic Syndicate resumed playing, a heavy serenade for the happy couple who danced an out of place waltz on-stage.

Backstage, Renji and Grimmjow cursed and watched with contemptuous glares as their girl was stolen from their arms. Sure the idea of a heavy metal wedding was something to be excited about, but the real prize had been stolen. Their awkward love triangle had been knocked down.

Rukia and Ichigo danced onstage for the entirety of Sonic Syndicates set, eventually departing alongside them to the appraising cheers of the crowd.

Ichigo denied ever thinking it would be fake. Even if it was a re-enactment on his part, the experience was a once in a lifetime thing. He had never felt so good before. He was feeling a new kind of high, something that could not be injected or smoked or swallowed.

Backstage bands began lining up to shake their hands and congratulate them. After ten minutes of this a familiar face popped up.

Urahara hugged Rukia and gave her his best wishes; he then turned to Ichigo and shook his hand with a strong grip while patting his back.

"Well done, Ichigo! There is no better bride on this earth, you are really lucky."

"Thanks." Ichigo smiled thinly.

"Now that wasn't so bad now was it?" Urahara noticed Rukia listening on the conversation and so he began to cover up his tracks. "See, if I hadn't brought you to your senses this wouldn't have happened."

"What's this?" Rukia interrupted.

"Ichigo was nervous about popping the big question but I managed to convince him that if he didn't profess his love, then there would be..._problems_..."

The last word had a menacing feel about it. Fortunately, Rukia failed to pick up on it. Ichigo however winced at the sound.

"I'm happy for the both of you; I wish you the best of luck in your new life together." Urahara shook their hands again and then left, but not before shooting a sinister glare at Ichigo just as he was about to leave.

"So...What do we do now?" Rukia queried.

"Well, there's only one more day of Deathfest and I'd love the ceremony to be here. I think we should plan it before it's too late."

"Tomorrow? But that's so soon!"

"Why wait? What are we savouring by just staying engaged? Let's get the wedding done and over with so that we can hurry up and start the next chapter in our lives!" In Ichigo's eyes, the sooner the marriage was over, the sooner Urahara would stop his strange behaviour. The man had always been odd, but these past few days he's been recognizably stranger.

The couple retired to their trailer where they discussed, booked, argued, debated and planned their big day. Urahara arrived unannounced an hour into their discussions and helped them out. Even though he was slightly psychotic, he was quite a good organiser.

All the while, the next band came out onstage. Vader stormed through a furious collection of skull-crushing death metal including 'Sword of the Witcher', 'God is dead' and 'Xeper'. They then ended with 'Lead us' which resulted in more aggressive circle pits and more blood flying and people dropping like hyperactive flies.

Afterwards, the godfathers of metal and one of the 'Three kings' of Teutonic thrash, Kreator take the stage. The wild Germans still retain their ferocity even in their older age. They begin with some hits from their recent album 'Hordes of Chaos' including the title track before delving deeper into their past with classics from their first few albums. At the end they return to more recent times with 'Enemy of god', 'Impossible brutality' and 'The ancient plague'. Even those who have never heard of Kreator quickly warm to them and those that do feel a strong nostalgia for good old early 80's thrash/death metal.

When they are done they clear the way for the second last band for the night. The crowd are left alone in the dark for a few minutes while the last sound check is under-taken and some lights are calibrated.

When all of it is done a fierce growl comes from backstage and Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt walked out to the adoring cries of his fans. Though this was no Opeth set, this was a set for the incredible death metal supergroup, Bloodbath, one of the greatest death metal acts of all time.

"CRY MY NAME!!!" Mikael screamed in an agonised roar before the others were revealed in a flash of bright light. The lights turned off and a second later they returned as the song began. The chorus was memorable enough for the crowd to growl along and everyone loved it.

Afterwards, Bloodbath did a few songs from the bands early days such as 'Breeding death', Mouth of empty praise', and 'Soul-collector'. They then performed 'Outnumbering the day' in all it's brutal glory.

Finally, they plated the obvious crowd favourite, 'Eaten'. The horrifically violent lyrics which if it wasn't readily apparent are about cannibalism, coupled with the chunky riffs, haunting solos and aggressive roars made it a complete success and drew their set to an incredible close involving a shower in fake blood.

The crowd screamed in mock terror and then laughed while they used up their diminishing energy head banging and throwing their fists in the air for the billionth time for today.

The Bloodbath ended with another bloody shower, and then they strolled offstage while the area was hosed down and prepared for the final band, the closing set.

The crowd were once again given a short break. Guards sprayed hoses into the crowd to dehydrate the exhausted fans and bottles of water were thrown out like free gifts. The fans snatched them and guzzled the whole bottle in one go before crying out for more.

And boy did they get it!

Fog and smoke drifted out across the stage and a lone figure stepped out, limping their way towards the centre of the stage where he could be seen more clearly. The man had a long, filthy, grime coated beard which was greying in some areas. His eyes were blank and rimmed in black as if he had just woken up from a year long slumber. He looked like a corpse which had just been dug up. His clothes were torn and dirty and his whole dilapidated self limped painfully towards the foot of the stage. He looked like a zombie...Hence the name...Rob Zombie!

Rob tilted his head and studied the crowd with his blank, dead eyes and then grinned. Blood dribbled out of his mouth and he began to groan mournfully as the rest of the band took the stage.

All of a sudden the stage was bathed in fire and a car engine noise came from the speakers. Then their hit song 'Dragula' began. The theatrics of the set were incredible and corpse-painted zombies would shamble about every now and then while people with axes in their heads would join them. It was very much like a heavier version of an Alice Cooper concert with blood and guts galore accompanied by heavy, headbangin' tunes.

The horror show lasted for the majority of their set which contained favourites such as 'Living dead girl' , 'Superbeast' , 'Lords of Salem' and 'American witch' as well as a few songs from the new album.

At the end, another figure walked out onstage, dressing in a large black leather coat which helped him blend into the darkness. He approached Rob and the two shook hands before waving to the crowd. A spotlight fell on the new man and jaws dropped in the crowd. It was the prince of darkness himself!! Ozzy Osbourne!!

A cheer so loud that it woke up the whole of Tokyo erupted from the crowd and they continued cheering all the way through 'Ironhead' which was more glorious than ever. A pyrotechnics show that would put the new years fireworks to shame ended the night on a spectacular note and the thousands of metal-heads went to sleep with broad smiles on their faces and their hands frozen in devil horns.

Day two ended with a bang, but tomorrow would be the final day of Deathfest and everybody knew that the grand finale would dominate over this small taste of awesomeness. The best was yet to come.

Tomorrow was a big day in the eyes of everyone present, but none more-so than Ichigo Kurosaki who had a _very _big day ahead of him...

Yeah! A heavy metal wedding and a mind blowing end to one of the greatest festivals on earth!! (A shame it isn't real...) In response to a review about my inspiration for Deathfest, it was partially inspired by Wacken open air, in fact most of the bands are from Wacken. All the rest are just personal favourites of mine. 

I'm sorry if your favourites haven't turned up yet, but I'll see what I can do. Seriously I'd put a thousand bands in if I could but there just isn't room. I hope you enjoy those listed so far and again I'd like to point out that I don't own the rights to any of the song names, band names or any such things. 

Please review and check out all of the bands I've mentioned so far. All of them are the '_creme de le creme' _(Is that right? I don't know I'm not french.) of the metal industry.


	16. 16: Doomsday

I realised that the deathfest arc was going to span a few more chapters and rather than have ten chapters titled Deathfest I'll just change it. I hope you enjoy and once again may I remind you that I do not own any of the bands, songs or characters in this story. they all belong to their repective owners, so nobody gets sued. 

**Track 16: Doomsday**

A crisp chill settled over the large open field. A few brave fans strolled about with no shirts on, but only for a few minutes until they found their tents, then they hurriedly piled on as much as they could.

A thin mist settled on-stage, giving a very cinematic opening for the first of the rising stars of Metal. Their soothing, yet brutal tunes blasted out bright and early, since the concert had to be pushed ahead of schedule to fit in the surprise wedding.

The organisers of the festival had been very considerate (And susceptible to Urahara's bribes) and thankfully they cooperated as agreed.

While things got to an early start Ichigo strolled back and forth inside his trailer. His nerves were getting the better of him. He never expected his life to go off in such a direction, but he was stuck with it now.

A knock on the door made him jump and he cleared his throat before attempting to say "Come in." Unfortunately the only sound to escape his lips was a loud croak like a hinge in good need of some oil.

The visitor pushed the door in gently and Ichigo stared at his guest. "Renji?"

The red head stepped in wordlessly and took a seat opposite his friend. He gestured for Ichigo to sit, as if it was his trailer. Ichigo obliged and sat down slowly, eyeing his band-mate curiously. "What do you want at such an hour?"

"Can the bullshit. You know what this is about!"

"What?" Ichigo asked simply.

"Rukia! We agreed remember?! We were to let her choose on her own!! You just forced her to go with you!!"

"She was free to say no." Ichigo explained.

"As if she would do that!! She cares about you! Of course she'd say yes!!"

"Then what's the problem?" Ichigo leaned back in his chair and folded his arms impatiently.

Renji growled unintelligibly and then stared daggers at the orange haired boy. "Seriously Ichigo, Get your head out of your own ass and take in what's happening!!"

"I know what's happening." Ichigo scolded.

"Oh really? So you know about the pompous son of a bitch who broke an agreement with two of his closest friends and disregarded their feelings while he snatched the greatest woman in the world. Well guess what, so do I!! But I guess you don't know one thing Mr High-and-mighty!"

Ichigo remained silent.

"Guess what."

"What?" Ichigo grunted.

"I fucking hate you! I'm done! I'm through with the whole fucking thing! I don't want to be in the band anymore and I don't want to ever speak to you again!" Renji rose from his seat and made for the door but Ichigo grabbed his sleeve and stopped him.

"Come on man, this is crazy!"

"I know. I should have punched you in the face by now, but I don't want to spoil your big day." Renji swiped at Ichigo's hand and he let go as he dodged the hit. Renji dusted himself off and glared at Ichigo. "Fuck you, fuck the band, and go fuck Rukia since you're so eager to have her all to yourself!"

"Renji?!"

"Shut up! Stay the hell away from me!" Renji lifted his hand to his own face and parted his fingers a centimetre apart. "I'm about this close to going Varg Vikernes on you."

Ichigo froze in place and left Renji to step outside and slam the door shut so hard that one of the hinges snapped and the door became lopsided. Ichigo cradled his head in his hands and stared blankly at the floor.

"What have I done?" He asked himself...Unfortunately, he didn't know the answer.

Several hours later, the second last of the little known bands took the stage. Last House On The Left, an American group who have created a unique brand of black/death metal. Their, violent and aggressive lyrics coupled with their musical ferocity make for a great show to open for the headliners.

As they depart the stage, a gang of young men take the stage. One of them seems to look a little familiar, though no-one picks it out for a while.

After some time the crowd catch on that the lead singer of this band, Rise to Remain, is Austin Dickinson, son of Bruce Dickinson the legendary front man for Iron Maiden. It seems now his son had formed his own band and is following in his fathers footsteps, although in a slightly different direction.

Their set comprises of four songs from their EP 'Bridges will burn'. Their incredible vocal mix of clean vocals, death growls and piercing shrieks is commended by all. Even better, is the fact that their guitar work is leagues above most death metal bands and has a very Maiden-esque feel to it, proving just how influential the gods of heavy metal are. By the end of their short set the crowd are crying for more, sadly that's their set over and there is no time for encores.

It's finally time for the headliners and first up is Trivium. The US thrash band show how they have moved out from Metallica's footsteps and forged a path of their own with their own unique and highly technical thrash. They do a damn good job and impress everyone present.

Next is a lesser known band from Canada. They are a masterful technical death metal band and their name is Quo Vadis. Their well crafted work is an audible work of art and they storm through a set containing the best of their long career, eventually ending in the faultless and utterly amazing 'Silence calls the storm'. They ride on the success of Trivium and work the crowd up even more, warming them up for the next treat.

The crowd wait patiently as suddenly more instruments are brought out. There are confused faces abound as barrels are rolled out onto the stage and a spring-mounted turn table, as well as two extra drum kits, both spring-mounted. It is not until the large banner falls down that it is understood. It is Slipknot, the Nu-metallers who have taken the world by storm with their wild and theatrical live shows.

The nine members strolled out, all masked and dressed in orange boiler suits. They scream and shout to the crowd who then respond in kind, easily roaring louder.

Corey Taylor snatches a microphone and studies the crowd with his concealed eyes. "Okay, screw fucking around with chit chat. Let's just do this!" He nods to the others and they jump into a crazed rendition of 'Sulfur'. They perform some of their most insane songs from their first album including 'Sic', 'Wait and bleed' and 'Surfacing' before moving onto their middle album. They do 'Virus of life' and 'Duplicity' before taking a break to do some of the mellower songs from their latest album such as 'Snuff' and "Dead memories'. Both their heavy and their melodic songs are equally enjoyed but just to go out with a bang they perform 'Before I forget' with an eye-popping pyrotechnics display throughout.

When they are done they claw at their sweaty masks and run offstage to the thunderous applause of their fans.

Things are going well onstage, but out the back, all hell is breaking loose!

Urahara and Rukia stood outside Ichigo's trailer, waiting impatiently for him to respond to their calls. Kisuke slammed his fist into the door and banged as loud as he could while roaring Ichigo's name.

The stubborn orange haired boy gave no response.

"What is wrong with him?!" Rukia asked. "Is he getting cold feet?"

"No, that's not it. He's so excited about marrying you...Something else must have upset him..." Urahara lost himself in thought briefly before reverting to kicking and screaming at the door. "Ichigo open the door!! We need to talk!! Ichigo!!"

Elsewhere, Renji watched silently while sipping from a tall glass full of lager. He downed half the glass in one mouthful and then chuckled to himself. "Trouble in paradise...Serves him right the back-stabbing bastard! Rukia's too good for him!"

"And you!" Grimmjow sat down beside him grasping a drink of his own. He took a small sip of his coke and then coughed. "Damn those Vikings can hold their liquor."

Renji turned sharply and eyed him curiously.

"The guys from Amon Amarth. They invited me for a drink but I had to leave before I got alcohol poisoning. I want to be sober for the wedding so I've sculled about twenty of these!" Grimmjow held up the soft drink and then frowned. "Now I'm busting for a piss, but I can't get to my trailer!"

"Why not?"

"I kind of busted the lock..." Renji raised an eyebrow. Grimmjow hung his head dejectedly and sighed. "I had my hands full so I tried to kick the door open, but it was locked and..." He trailed off. "So how are things on your end, but make it quick, I really got to go!"

Renji threw his trailer keys to his band-mate and groaned. "It'll take a while so go now."

Grimmjow rushed off and Renji resumed spying on the nervous bride-to-be.

Meanwhile, back at Ichigo's trailer, an irate Kisuke Urahara checked his watch. "Dammit! You guys are getting married in only four hours! Where the hell is he?!"

"I'll go ask Renji if he's seen him." Rukia jogged off towards the small communal bar for the numerous bands. She spotted Renji sitting near the window and she rushed over to him. "Hey Renji, why are you drinking all alone?"

"Because Grimmjow's in the little girls room and Zaraki's somewhere in the crowd trying to fight in the mosh pits again." Renji explained.

"What about Ichigo?"

"He's getting ready for his big day, so should you. You want to look spectacular for your wedding don't you?"

Rukia smiled. "You're taking this rather well..."

"What do you mean?"

"I know about the fighting between you Grimmjow and Ichigo. I know you all like me and have been battling for my love since the band was started."

"Oh...That..." Renji looked down into his glass.

"Honestly, it's something a bunch of high school kids would do, not grown men." Rukia scolded.

"Ichigo's in high school."

"I know, but you're nearly 200 years old. You should be more mature about this." Rukia sighed. "But I guess boys will be boys." She giggled and smiled warmly at Renji. "I should probably be flattered that so many people love me."

"Well, who could possibly resist you?" Renji asked. "You're pretty and funny and one hell of a guitar player-"

"Renji, stop. I'm marrying Ichigo. I mean this is awkward enough without you making things difficult for me." Rukia placed a hand on Renji's and he gazed into her gentle eyes as she spoke.

"Sorry."

"We'll still be friends. Nothing will change. You and I will still be best friends and I don't want this whole thing to come between us." Renji nodded submissively as he observed what he had lost to his orange haired nemesis.

"Well...I wish you the best of luck...I hope you have a wonderful life together...then at least one of us is happy."

"Oh, don't be like that!" Rukia whined. "Look, I really need to talk to Ichigo, have you seen him lately?"

"He's sulking in his trailer." Renji growled.

"Sulking? Why?!"

Renji took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his head. "I kind of shattered my ties with him this morning." Renji closed his eyes but he could tell Rukia was shocked.

"Renji! Why on earth did you do that?!"

"Look, I woke up in a bad mood and took it out on Ichigo! I'm sorry, I didn't think he'd read into it so much! Anyway, it's not like he's the only one with issues at the moment!" Renji's tone darkened and Rukia suddenly felt uneasy.

"You weren't serious about what you said to Ichigo were you?" She asked uneasily. Renji gave no answer, he just glared at her. "Um...Okay, I have to go, but I'll see you at the ceremony later. Bye!" Rukia jogged off and Renji watched her go.

In his mind he was tormented by the answer to Rukia's last question.

_"You weren't serious about what you said to him were you?"_

_Was I? I don't know anything anymore...All I know is that my world will end when those two get married...It'll be the apocalypse..._

For a moment, no thoughts passed through his head and he merely stared blankly at the empty glass in front of him. Then...

_Geez, how long does it take for Grimmjow to take a leak? _

The chaos ensues! Will the wedding go well, or will the numerous problems mount up and ruin it for everyone?! Also, who are the last few headliners who will bring this wild festival to a glorious end? read the next chapter to find out!

Please review and check out any of the bands mentioned that you've never heard of. They are all awesome!

Did I say review? Well here it goes again... _**REVIEW!!!**_


	17. 17: Apocalypse

**Track 17: Apocalypse**

The stage was ablaze as towering flames reached out to the sky. Amidst the inferno the members of Machine Head are storming through their set, causing dozens of circle pits and amassing an all in brawl for the crowd.

When 'Beautiful Mourning' draws to a close they stop everything and the vocalist approaches the foot of the stage with a sinister grin on his face.

"Okay everyone; let's start a wall...Of...DEATH!!"

The crowd instantly know the drill and they part to the left and right sides, leaving a vacant battlefield between the opposing sides. A tense silence ensues and everyone stands their ground defiantly, glaring at their opponents.

"Are you ready?!"

The crowd roar in answer.

"I'll count that as a yes! Alright ladies and gentlemen...Prepare for war!!!"

Every single member of the crowd tenses. Some look to their commander for instruction. A drum roll begins and the guitars strike open notes rhythmically, just to build things up a bit. This goes on for a minute or two until no-one can take it anymore. The crowd are itching to destroy everyone else.

One person in particular is anxious to spill blood...A tall man in an eye patch and with spiky black hair.

"Okay..." The vocalist takes a deep breath and roars. "THREE!!"

A brief pause.

"TWO!!!"

The tension could be cut with a knife now. Eyes are wide, hairs are standing on end and rage-fuelled blood is pumping through their veins. They are more ready than they ever will be...It's time!

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE" The scream stretched on for what felt like eternity and the two sides charged like two great armies clashing on a battlefield. They rushed intothe centre and clashed with a great roar.

The song currently being played was barely noticed as all hell broke loose in the crowd. The wall of death earned its name. Blood sprayed, fists flew and people dropped like flies. A mosh pit involving the entire crowd quickly formed and people tripped over those who had fallen. Others just leaped over them, as if they were merely human hurdles.

"DIE!!!" Zaraki dashed around knocking anyone and anything down. He was lost to his primal instincts. To him this really was a war. He couldn't care less if he was going too far; this was too much fun for him. Zaraki laughed insanely as he attacked his fans.

Some tried to fight back, but fighting Zaraki is about as hopeless as trying to put out a fire with petrol.

Machine Head ignored the violence and did their job, providing a brutal soundtrack to the war occurring right in front of them.

They performed a bunch of classics and then ended with a tribute to Dimebag Darrell of Pantera, by doing a cover of 'Fucking Hostile'. And they were! The pryo show became even more insane with fireballs getting shot into the air and fireworks going off.

The crowd fought on frenziedly until the very end, until the final note of 'Davidian' in which one of the amps blew out.

Roadies rushed out and began replacing it while Machine Head left backstage.

An executive walked out again to chat with the victims of war. Half the crowd were lying on the ground, bruised, beaten and fucked up! The exec frowned at the carnage left behind.

"You guys look like you need a break...Well; we've only got three more bands to go! While our final headliners get ready, we'll give you something a little softer to nurse you back into good health. Enjoy!" The man ran offstage alongside the roadies and the crowd waited in silence.

A thick fog covers the stage and a lone silhouette edges out from the darkness, slowly getting closer. He stops in the centre and then more shadows arise from the fog. A weak light spills down onto them, but it is still not enough to reveal them.

A mournful guitar riff wails out of a guitar and then a dull spotlight falls on the front man...The one and only Marilyn Manson. The man is dressed in a leather trench coat reminiscent of the matrix and his face is painted like a very evil clown. He flicks back his straight black hair and frowns at the audience before beginning to sing in his dark and sorrowful tone. 'Sweet dreams' is off to a brilliant start and the wounded crowd are licking their wounds while relaxing to the darker cover of what was once a pop song.

Manson and his crew go through a set full of crowd favourites like 'Beautiful people' 'disposable teens' 'Tourniquet' and 'Tainted love'. There is no big fireworks display, only thick fog, giving off an intensely creepy atmosphere. Despite lacking the intensity of the previous band, Manson's set goes down a treat, especially since his strange and disappointing gigs prior to Deathfest. (Metal Hammer Golden God awards anyone?) Things end with Manson and his band performing an energetic 'Fight song'. Some brave moshers try to start a tiny circle pit, but everyone is near death, so barely anyone could do it, even if they wanted to. Manson leaves and the smoke disappears with him.

There is a short break while the next band prepares to take the stage.

Eventually, several men walk out in armour and corpse-paint. A banner drops down displaying a black metal logo that is instantly recognisable, even to the untrained eye. They are Emperor, back from the dead and ready to unleash some of the greatest black metal in all existence.

They start off with 'I am the black wizards' and a few other songs from their early such as 'Ancient Queen' and 'Inno A Satanna'. They then progress through their later material such as 'Empty'. They then return with some more classics, ending with 'Towards the pantheon'

Everyone except Ihsahn departs the stage. The vocalist takes a drink of water and takes off his armour. He then turns to watch the next group to come out. They are the members of his solo band. They begin playing 'Undercurrent', one of the most outstanding and unique metal songs ever recorded. For the first two minutes, it seems just like any ordinary progressive metal song, but then it get's heavier. Pretty soon, Ihsahn is bringing his Black metal expertise back to the table (Or stage) with his mournful shrieks. But this gem get's better...

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a new person walks out onstage, wielding a seemingly out of place saxophone. There are confused glances in the crowd, but as soon as the sax solo begins, there is applause and cheers from the crowd. Never before has the saxophone been an instrument to head bang to, but today is a special day. The jazzy progressive black metal masterpiece ends with a nice explosion and everyone is pleased.

Deathfest has wound down to its final set and everyone is tensely awaiting the final band who, hopefully is the best saved to last.

Meanwhile out the back of the stage, Grimmjow walked past a familiar face. Rukia was leaning against Ichigo's trailer, her hand wrapped in an ice pack. Grimmjow paused before her and studied her hand.

"What's wrong?"

Rukia suppressed her tears for a moment and sniffed loudly. "I've been banging on his door for hours...He just won't come out."

"Why the hell not?! He's getting married in an hour! Do you suppose he has cold feet?"

"No! Ichigo was the one who moved it to tonight and it was his idea in the first place! Why would he suddenly feel so nervous?!" Rukia wiped her eyes and sighed. "Maybe he just doesn't love me..." She set herself off and began to weep.

Grimmjow watched sombrely and approached the door. He punched it so hard he made a dent. "Ichigo!! Come out here you spineless bastard and accept your fate! If you don't open the door by the count of three then I'm going to marry Rukia in your place!"

"Hey! I never-" Rukia was cut off by Grimmjow's signal for silence.

"It's to lure him out." He whispered harshly. Rukia nodded and set her gaze on the door. For a while nothing happened, but then the door handle suddenly moved. They waited patiently for Ichigo to open the door, but nothing happened.

Grimmjow groaned and stepped back a few metres. Rukia eyed him curiously.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna bust down that fucking door and drag him out!" Grimmjow smiled aggressively.

"No Grimmjow don't!" Rukia tried to stop him, but once he was on the warpath, there was no stopping him. Grimmjow charged and threw his whole body into the door, managing to knock it off of its hinges and make it collapse inside the trailer.

Rukia stepped into the open doorway and looked around. Ichigo was nowhere to be seen.

Grimmjow grunted and rubbed his freshly bruised shoulder while sitting up. Rukia lended a hand but when Grimmjow tried to tug on her arm to pull himself up, he used too much force and ended up yanking Rukia off of her feet and throwing her on top of him. She landed on Grimmjow awkwardly but thankfully nobody was around to see.

Rukia blushed and slid off of Grimmjow. "Sorry."

"No, it was my fault...I should have known you were weak."

"What was that?!" Rukia snarled giving Grimmjow a dead arm on the same side as his bruised shoulder. He cried out and began rolling about on the floor whining.

Rukia clambered back onto her feet and studied the room. It looked as if nobody had been in here for the long hours she had spent knocking on the door. For a moment she felt incredibly stupid, but then she saw it.

A small sprout of orange hair sticking up from behind a couch.

"Ichigo?" Rukia walked on her toes, slowly approaching the distressed berry-head. She eventually walked around the couch and stood behind him. She coughed to make her presence known, not that she really needed to...Grimmjow's entrance would have alerted even a deaf person.

Ichigo made no indication of life; he just sat in the same position, still as a statue. Rukia placed a hand on his shoulder but he gave no response. He was cold to the touch and Rukia withdrew her hand.

"Ichigo? It's me Rukia. What's wrong?"

Ichigo turned his head and looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry..."

Rukia cocked her head.

"I'm sorry I betrayed you all...It's just..." Ichigo trailed off.

"Just what? What are you talking about? How did you betray us?!" Rukia shook Ichigo as if the answers would fall out of him like a piggy bank.

Ichigo averted his gaze. "Urahara..."

"Kisuke? What's he got to do with this?" Grimmjow asked, suddenly joining the conversation.

"The whole marriage was his idea...It's just a publicity stunt so that he can make more money..."

"I don't understand." Rukia whispered.

"Urahara blackmailed me into marrying you during this festival, just to boost record sales. I'm so sorry."

"Blackmailed?!" Grimmjow gasped. "What did he threaten to do?"

"He told me that a death in the band would suffice if a marriage was not arranged." Ichigo said deadpan.

"You don't mean..."

"He was ready to kill one of us just to get his filthy money." Ichigo answered. "I...I just don't know if I can go through with it..."

"But..." Rukia began to sob. "When you proposed to me...You were sincere! You do love me!"

"Yeah, and besides you did it on your own the first time didn't you? Urahara approached you later!" Grimmjow explained.

"Why do you care so much? I thought you wanted Rukia for yourself?" Ichigo queried.

"Well..." Grimmjow rubbed the back of his head. "You guys just seem to suit each other, being shinigami and all. That and if Rukia was loyal enough to knock on your door until her hand broke...Then she's already yours. Congratulations man." Grimmjow shook Ichigo's hand and hugged Rukia before crossing over to the door. He glanced over his shoulder and grinned. "Sort yourselves out and I'll meet you at the wedding!"

Ichigo nodded weakly and then gazed into Rukia's eyes. "Alright, let's get through this and then we can deal with Urahara together!"

"Don't worry Ichigo; we'll bring that evil bastard down even if it costs us our jobs! We can't let such a corrupt man be involved in the metal industry...corruption is for pop music!"

Ichigo and Rukia laughed and then shared a passionate kiss before parting ways. When next they meet, it would be at the ceremony, but if the thought that was the worst part, they were sorely mistaken. The wedding would only be the start...Nothing could prepare them for what was going to happen next!

The wedding is about to start! The clock is ticking and soon it will be time! But can Urahara be trusted or will he carry his threats out regardless. Also, who is this final headliner? Guess! Come on guess! Meh, you don't have to I'll tell you in the next chapter. So don't miss it!

I hope you've been enjoying the story (I know someone from Brunei Darussalem definitely has.) Thank you for reading. 

Now please review! 


	18. 18: Armageddon I

**Track 18: Armageddon I**

The last headliner was about to be announced. The crowd all waited impatiently, bunching their fists and shaking like a dog out in the cold. Soon enough the roadie army scattered and the executive walked out again.

"You having a good time?"

Most people cheered or yelled out affirmatives, but a small patch in the left hand side roared, "Fuck off and bring out the next band!"

The executive took it with a smile and did an awkward looking nod before spreading his arms wide. "Well, I won't keep you waiting. Get ready for the gods of heavy metal! The one, the only... METALLICA!"

The roar of the crowd could be heard throughout all of Tokyo, in fact most of Japan could hear the almighty roar.

Back at the festival the crowd were already worked up without even seeing them. Onstage a small fire stretched across the front of the stage. It grew a little higher and then exploded in a towering wall of flames. When the fire died down Metallica were all set up and already performing 'All nightmare long'.

Every single head in the crowd was rocking back and forth and every single hand was reaching up towards the sky with the devil horns displayed proudly. It is clear who the favourite of the festival is.

Metallica, the unbeatable thrash giant that has consumed the world with their perfected blend of technicality and heaviness. They are an instant hit and the security guards have to block off the surging wall of people that repetitively rushes towards the stage.

It is safe to say that even those who try and pretend they don't like them eat their own words and become as absorbed as the next man in the musical feast that is Metallica.

The middle-aged quartet prove why even after four decades they are the undisputed kings of metal.

Meanwhile at Soul Reaper HQ (It's Ichigo's trailer...) the final adjustments were being made to the wedding plans.

Urahara was sorting out catering and pretty much everything else while Ichigo hurriedly scribbled down some vows. Rukia was doing the same thing in her own trailer.

Renji sat beside Ichigo with a frown. He still felt enraged at the fact he was losing Rukia. His bitterness was hanging around him like a rain cloud in a children's cartoon. He sighed, accidentally catching Ichigo's attention.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked. He then instantly nodded and answered himself. "Oh right..."

Renji averted his gaze and stared out the window. Unfortunately, Ichigo was not finished with him just yet.

"Hey Renji, could you do me a favour?" The irate red-head said nothing but turned to Ichigo to signify he was still listening. "Renji, I know this is really weird and you're still pissed about the whole wedding but...Could you be my best man?"

Renji nearly fell off his chair. He choked on the air and stared at Ichigo with wide eyes. "Say that again?" He asked, unsure of whether he actually heard it right.

"I know we've had our fights and we've never really got our shit together, but...I can't think of anyone more suited to the job than you." Ichigo pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. "I know you're thinking of punching me in the face right now. You're probably even thinking of telling me to get fucked, but just think it over...Please?"

Renji looked down at the floor and grappled with the decision. He and Ichigo had been friends before all of this...But could he really just put his grudge aside and let Ichigo win again? But he couldn't just turn him down like that...Or could he?

"Dammit!" Renji growled. He punched the table and made a crack in the thick timber. "I don't know what to do!"

"Well, not only would you be doing this for me, but you'd be doing it for Rukia. Anyway, you can hold Rukia's hand as you walk her down the aisle." Ichigo smirked. He knew the bait would draw him in.

Renji clenched his fists and was about to let out another obscenity but he managed to bury it within him and finally decide. "I'll do it."

"Thanks man!" Ichigo patted him on the back and then walked over to Urahara.

Renji leaned back in his chair and groaned. "Boy is this gonna be awkward..."

In Rukia's trailer, Grimmjow kept the lucky girl company while she wrote her vows. He sat on the couch throwing a bottle cap up in the air and then catching it, only to repeat it over and over.

"Feel free to talk." Rukia muttered ending the unusual silence.

"Oh, um right...How are you feeling?" Grimmjow asked disinterestedly.

"I'm excited, but...I feel bad."

"Why?" Grimmjow asked obligingly.

"Because you and Renji both felt so strongly about me and it just feels wrong to be choosing Ichigo over you two." She sighed and cradled her head in her hands.

"Hey, hey, don't be like that!" Grimmjow rubbed her back and comforted her. "Renji may be a stubborn little asshole, but I am happy for you and Ichigo. I know I never would have had a chance even if I tried. Anyway, you said yes when he proposed. You don't say yes just for a laugh, it's because you really mean it! You're committed to Ichigo and no-one should come between you!" Grimmjow took a deep breath. "But, still...It's up to you."

Rukia cocked her head and was about to take it further but someone bashed on the door and interrupted them.

"Rukia, I've got your dress!" It was Renji. He opened the door himself and strolled in carrying the outfit which was folded up in his arms. He handed it over and hugged her before stepping back and studying the bride.

Rather than a white wedding dress, this one was a black gothic outfit. Rukia held it up to her body and approached a mirror. She giggled like a schoolgirl and began screaming, "I love it!"

Grimmjow glanced at Renji. "So, you coming to the ceremony?"

Renji chuckled. "Of course I'm going! I'm the best man."

Both Rukia and Grimmjow said "What?" at the same time as if it was scripted.

"You. The best man? Bullshit!" Grimmjow roared. "I'm better than you! It should be me!"

Rukia sweat-dropped. "Geez, how long will this go on for?"

The two bickering men raised their voices steadily throughout their argument until they were both screaming at each other. After ten minutes they realised Rukia was gone.

Onstage, Metallica's classic song 'Master of puppets' was nearing it's close and the crowd were still going strong, roaring louder than a thousand lions.

As the final note rang out a long sustained cheer erupted from the fans and people began trying to run onstage again. The burly guards threw them back into the crowd and they were carried away from the stage in a reverse crowd surf.

Next up in the set was 'Fade to black' one of the greatest songs ever made and a reminder of Metallica's first branch into something better than just plain thrash. From the beginning all the way through to the epic 2 minute long outro solo, the crowd are hooked. Things are only getting better and Metallica continue to go from strength to strength playing more and more crowd favourites. Their set is nearing its end and soon the wedding will begin!

Ichigo adjusted the collar of his leather jacket and then smoothed out his sleeves. It may not be a traditional wedding but he still wanted to look desirable. He studied himself in the mirror and played with his spiky flame-coloured hair. He lost himself in the strange obsessive action and was startled out of it when someone knocked on the door.

Ichigo opened it and greeted Urahara who was carrying a checklist. He was dressed in a strange dark green business suit and still wore his striped hat. Thankfully though, he was wearing shoes instead of sandals.

"Kisuke? What's up?"

"You've got the suit? Good. Grimmjow's getting the ring, I've sorted out the bouquet, it should be delivered soon. The cake is still getting frosted; it should be done for the reception. Rukia's got her dress..."

"Calm down Urahara. It'll be fine."

"Yes, I know, but it has to go down well with the fans if it's to boost sales!" Ichigo scowled but turned around to hide his sour expression.

"So, who's going to be the bridesmaid?" Ichigo asked.

"Urahara grinned. "We've sorted that out already. Some special guests are going to be arriving soon and they are all so excited to meet you!"

"Guests? Who is it?"

"You'll find out!" Urahara said while fiddling with his cane. "Now remember, happy faces and melt their gullible hearts! Good luck!" Ichigo shook his hand reluctantly and then waved the organiser off before retreating back inside his trailer.

"Damn you Urahara! I'll get you, you vile heartless monster!" He rifled through a drawer and pulled out something small and metallic. It was a tiny replica of Tensa Zangetsu, one of the merchandise that had been created for the release of the album. It was supposed to be a mere ornamental sword, but if the time came, then it would be used just like the original had...as a killing tool!

Ichigo tucked it inside his jacket and then gave himself one last check in the mirror. Pleased with his reflection he walked out the door. He paused outside the door and stared at the roadies/wedding caterers who were scurrying about like ants.

Ichigo cracked his knuckles and sighed. "Well, lets get this party started!"

Rukia downed a whole glass of wine in one mouthful and then coughed. She then sculled a glass of water to sober up enough to be able to speak properly. With that, her wedding preparations were done and she was ready to walk down the aisle.

She skipped out of the bar and found Renji waiting for her dressed in a black suit with spiked wristbands. He held out an arm and Rukia took it cautiously.

"Watch out for the spikes." Renji murmured.

"You nervous?" Rukia giggled.

"Aren't I supposed to ask you that?"

"Who cares? I'm nervous!" Rukia replied happily.

Renji chuckled and led her towards the ceremonial area/stage.

The backstage area was divided into two parts. One for the bride and one for the groom. That way they wouldn't see each other as tradition stated. Other than that...This was completely different.

Ichigo approached his groom's area backstage and listened to the slightly muted sound of Metallica coming from behind the huge walls. He nodded his head rhythmically as he waited for the maid of honour.

Usually he would be waiting for the best man, but things had been rearranged because of Ichigo's bribe to Renji. Now Renji would guide Rukia down the aisle and the maid of honour would assist Ichigo.

Ichigo felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned around to see Orihime in a purple cocktail dress and heavy eyeliner. She smiled warmly at Ichigo and then lunged; hugging him so tight it was constricting him.

"Inoue? It's been a while!"

"I missed you so much!" Orihime wailed. "But...this is what you want, so...I wanted to be a part of it!" She smiled weakly and then wiped tears form her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Orihime sniffed and then gave a slight giggle. "Remember when I thought Deathfest was a ritual sacrifice? I just feel so stupid." They both laughed hysterically and eventually Orihime let go of the groom and reached into a purse she was carrying. "I have the ring!"

Ichigo admired the silver ring with a black jewelled pentagram beneath a silver goat skull with ruby eyes. "It's perfect. Thank you Orihime."

Inoue sniffed again and gave a beaming smile. "Anything for you, Kurosaki-kun!"

The music suddenly died down and the roadies began rushing about like crazy.

"It's time." Ichigo muttered.

Well, That was the last band of deathfest. I'm sorry if your favourites didn't turn up, there were so many choices it was very hard to narrow it down as it was. More importantly, the wedding that will outdo all other weddings is about to begin! Get a front row seat and dont miss it!

Please review!


	19. 19: Armageddon II

**Track 19: Armageddon II**

Ichigo froze as the music died down. The end of the songs signified the dawn of the apocalypse (A.k.a marriage.) The nervous berry-head stared at his shaking hands and willed them to stop. They did as asked and then he listened to a roadie who was giving him instructions.

Since there was no dress rehearsal or anything, this would quite possibly be very chaotic and constant instructions had to be given.

The roadie listened in on a headset clipped to his ear. He nodded several times and then waved a hand to the stage while nodding at Ichigo. "You're both on now. Go!"

Ichigo took a deep breath and looked down at Orihime. "Should I enjoy my last few seconds as a free man?" Inoue cocked her head and was about to speak when Ichigo grabbed her and kissed her. Inoue felt tears run down her cheeks as her lifelong dream came true. When he was done, Ichigo shied away and wiped his mouth. "I'll only be single once." He smiled at Orihime and then gestured at the stage.

They waded through piles of coiled wires and weaved through broken amps and various equipment. Orihime nearly tripped on a discarded guitar strap but Ichigo caught her and led her out onto the stage. Orihime walked over to her position while Ichigo stepped out into the centre of the stage and gave a triumphant roar. The crowd returned the favour and hurled various cheers and messages of good will.

He then took his place between Orihime and a corpse-painted priest dressed in blood-soaked rags. He held a mouldy book in his bony fingers and his vacant eyes studied him with distant curiosity. The odd priest then gestured to the other entrance where the beautiful bride would enter...If all went well...

On the side of the stage Michael Ammot played a shredding six-string rendition of the bridal march song while adding in a solo to brighten everyone's day.

Grimmjow strolled out first with a sour expression. He clutched a tiny woven basket filled with flower petals. He scattered them like any flower girl would have, though in today's wedding, they were no bright flowers, they were dark purple rose petals. Grimmjow scowled at the priest and then stepped aside as the bride walked out.

Rukia stepped out from the shadows in an exquisite black dress which had one side going down to her ankles and the other side cutting off at her knees. The longer side had a large split. It looked nothing like a wedding dress, but this was no usual wedding, so all was forgiven. A little bejewelled skull was attached to the hem just above her bust.

The crowd made awed gasps while a few men wolf whistled.

Ichigo staggered for a moment, taken aback by her beauty. His jaw dropped and he stared at her as she approached the priest. Ichigo finally snapped out of his trance when Inoue elbowed him in the ribs.

Renji stood beside the bride with a brave face. He was still pissed at losing Rukia, but he couldn't stand to abandon her on her big day, so he stood his ground. He nodded to Ichigo and then straightened his collar.

The black metal priest raised his hands and shrieked something in a foreign tongue before beginning the ceremony. He went through a remixed version of the ceremony which was less religious and more...Heavy metal.

After a short message the zombie priest gestured for Ichigo to recite his vows.

Ichigo cleared his throat and stepped out into clearer view. He faced Rukia and gazed deep into her eyes, searching for the words to say to her.

"Rukia...My life was forever meaningless until the day I met you. You gave me a reason to live; a reason to be happy and most importantly, you gave me a reason to fall in love."

The crowd gave an obligatory, "Aww" as if they were a studio audience.

"On that fateful night...When you saved me from destruction, I realized my life was indebted to you. We became friends faster than I expected and in no time I felt like this was more than just a friendship. I was in love."

Another "Aww."

"I could blab on for ages about silly little things. I could make up a bunch of cute and cuddly crap, but instead I'll get right to the point. Rukia Kuchiki, nothing in this world...Not even Metal." Ichigo paused as a resounding roar came from the crowd. "Not even Metal, could make me feel as happy as I am today. For nothing in this world is better...Than having such a hard rocking goddess as a bride."

Another wave of deafening cheers and roars escaped from the crowd.

Rukia placed hand over her heart and smiled warmly as Ichigo walked back to his place.

Inoue tapped him on the shoulder and sniffed. "That was lovely...I think you made me cry..." Orihime then wiped away tears as they flowed freely. Ichigo patted her shoulder and comforted her while the ghoulish priest went on again about the vows.

Rukia then performed her vows. She did the same procedure as Ichigo, only with reversed roles. She giggled as she looked at Ichigo with a wide grin. "At first when I met you...I thought you were just a smug little punk. But when I got to know you, I realised you were more than just a rebellious teen. You were the missing piece in my life. With you here today, I feel complete and this day will cement our love and officially complete our lives." Rukia sniffed and wiped a tear away with a gloved hand. "Ichigo Kurosaki...I love you."

The next wave of cheers occurred and the priest eventually silenced them with his pale hands. He then spread his arms and gestured to the two ring bearers. "You shall now exchange rings."

Inoue handed Ichigo the ring and Renji did the same to Rukia. The bride and groom then approached each other. Ichigo took Rukia's hand and gently placed the ring on one of her delicate fingers. Rukia then did the same in return.

The corpse-paint priest then turned to the couple. "Ichigo Kurosaki, do you take this woman to be your wife in sickness and health and even if she starts listening to pop music?"

Ichigo made a thoughtful face and then chuckled. "Hell yeah!" He raised devil horns and the crowd cried out joyfully.

"Rukia Kuchiki, do you take this man to be your husband in sickness and in health and even if he bangs a few groupies on the side?"

Rukia glared at the priest for the briefest of moments and then screamed. "Yes!"

The priest spread his arms wide again. "With the power of great horned king, I pronounce you husband and wife. Rock on mutha-fucka's!" The priest roared and spat flames into the sky. Simultaneous fireworks went off and the loudest roar ever heard came from the crowd.

"You may now kiss the bride." The priest said before returning to his fire breathing antics. He moved aside so that the crowd could clearly see Ichigo and Rukia take each other in their arms and embrace.

Michael Amott played a heavy, yet melodic serenade as they kissed.

Meanwhile, backstage, Urahara rubbed his hands together excitedly. He was going to be a very rich man if his plan succeeded.

Back onstage the happy couple stopped their dance of the tongues and approached the foot of the stage and waved. The already deafening roars somehow got louder. Fireworks continued to shoot out into the darkened sky, showering Tokyo in bright dazzling colours and eye-popping explosions.

Ichigo took a microphone and raised a fist into the sky. "Hey everybody! Let's have some fucking cake! YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAH!"

A large cake was wheeled out onto the stage and knife was handed to Ichigo. He juggled it and then laughed. "I knew this day would come so I practiced earlier on some people." The crowd laughed at his joke and then he and Rukia gripped the shining handled and made the first slice into the cake which was shaped like Rukia's guitar and adorned with a modified version of the husband and groom figures. Instead it was a big red horned guy with bat wings and a seductive looking woman kneeling before him.

Rukia stared at it and then snatched the microphone. "I sure as hell am not going to kneel for you!" She gave a brief pause and then added, "Until the honeymoon."

A wave of raucous laughter emanated from the crowd and then some roadies began cutting the cake while the happy couple headed backstage accompanied by the excited cheers of their adoring fans.

Once out of view Rukia leapt into Ichigo arms and giggled excitedly. "I'm so happy! It feels like I'm high!" She laughed hysterically and Ichigo gasped.

"You're not though, are you?"

Rukia crossed her arms and frowned. "No."

"Oh good...I just thought-"

"I'm not high!" Rukia growled cutting him off. "Geez only a minute and a half and already we're fighting!"

"Oh, don't mind. Let all your worries be forgotten. Today is all about us, and no-one else!" Ichigo kissed her cheek and then led her back to a special room for them and a few special guests. On their way members of the headlining bands lined up toasting them with longnecks and pitchers of various alcoholic brews.

When they reached their special reserved room Renji and Grimmjow were holding the door for them. They grinned as they came closer and then opened the door, letting the couple in first before following after them.

Once they were inside Grimmjow slapped Ichigo on the back with thunderous force. "Congratulations man! Good luck and best wishes, eh?"

Ichigo held in the curse at his sore back and he instead shook Grimmjow's hand. "So, no hard feelings?"

"No. I've never seen anyone so happy in my life. It would be crazy to think you don't belong together. Anyway, Renji feels the same way, so no worries! Now let's have some cake!"

They were soon joined by another friendly face, Kenpachi Zaraki. He ducked through the door and stared at them with wide eyes. "Did someone say cake?" He ducked in and was soon followed by Urahara and Inoue.

"Wow, it's a freaking party now!" Grimmjow laughed as he raised a bottle of beer in a toast. "Come on everybody, to the happy couple!" Everyone joined him in raising their glasses. "Rock on guys!"

Then the cake was handed out and there was absolute silence bar the occasional contented moan from the pleased diners. When that was out of the way drink were handed out and the conversations resumed.

Inoue studied the odd group and made a surprised noise. "So this is your band..."

"Yeah. Didn't you see us perform?" Ichigo asked, wiping crumbs from the corner of his mouth.

"No, they only flew me out yesterday." Inoue muttered.

"What? Just you?"

"No. They brought more than just me. You had more guests than that!"

"Who" Ichigo asked.

"Well, you'll find out eventual-" Orihime was cut off when the door was kicked open and three merry visitors entered the room.

"HI ICHI!" Yuzu fell through the door and hugged her older brother.

Karin followed far more reserved and merely waving and murmuring greetings to everyone present. Behind her 'Papa Goat-chin' or Isshin for short came through cheering like an idiot, already drunk off his arse.

Ichigo covered his blushing face behind his hands. "Any more surprises I should know about?"

"Yeah. You forgot about me you bastard!" Everyone stared at Tatsuki as she trudged through the door.

As introductions were made, Grimmjow frowned at his beer and then at the guests. "Damn, I feel bad getting shit-faced in front of little kids."

Yuzu looked up at him and frowned. "What's shit-faced mean?" She asked in a painfully innocent voice.

Grimmjow covered his head in his hands and rocked back and forth while everyone watched on curiously.

"Are you okay?" Inoue slid up next to the traumatised blue-haired man and wrapped a reassuring arm around him. Grimmjow's eyes lit up and he bolted upright, whipping Orihime in the face with his hair. He grinned at her and began laughing hysterically.

"I'm okay now! What's your name sweetie?"

Everyone sweat dropped bar Inoue and the hopeless romantic. Orihime introduced herself and Grimmjow pulled the cliché 'stretch and yawn' manoeuvre only to result in further sweat drops.

Eventually the party started and drinks were flowing like tap water. Soon everyone was off their faces...except for the kids of course who just drank cola.

Things were going so well until Ichigo remembered something important. He rubbed Rukia's shoulder and she gazed at him with clouded eyes. She was already drunk and she'd only had two glasses of wine. Ichigo smiled and gave her a kiss which made her squeal like a little girl and then begin clapping.

"I've got something I've got to do." He rose from his feet and approached Urahara. "Hey, Kisuke. Can I talk to you outside for a moment?"

Urahara jumped up and grinned. "Sure thing." He walked out of the room and stepped into the corridor which was empty now. Most of the band members had retreated to the bars or their trailers and the roadies were having their well earned break. The backstage area was a ghost town now...Perfect for what Ichigo had to do...He had to protect his friends, family and band mates...And his wife! The only way to do that would be to defeat the psychotic band manager...Kisuke Urahara!

With Ichigo's next act, all hell would break loose, just like a metal music video.

Yes that's right! This little baby is gonna go out with a bang (Well epic explosion would be better...) In true metal fashion. The journey is drawing to a close, so dont miss the grand finale!

Please review. Your support is what made this story what it is and I need motivation for the final stretch so please write a short comment. Like it or hate it, I need to know, so please...

**_REVIEW!_**


	20. 20: Armageddon III

Yeah! Over 3000 hits! I can't believe something that started out as just a little crack fic could turn into such an epic adventure and be so popular. thank you to everyone who has read so far and hopefully I can get a few more fans before this story reaches it's end. Enjoy and review!

**Track 20: Armageddon III**

With Deathfest over, large groups of people began their long journeys back home. Many had already while others were either setting up camp for the final night, or taking those camps down and packing up. The booze stopped flowing and the wounded moshers shook hands and made up for their previous behaviours.

Among the bands, large buses and trucks and cars were driving off in a mighty convoy. Private planes soared off into the sky.

Roadies took shifts, dismantling parts of the stage. The main area remained up but the lights were taken down, half of the amps wheeled away into large trucks. The banners were rolled up and the wires coiled up and placed in huge boxes.

The great festival had ended and now everyone had to return to their lives, their fun was over for a while...But next year it would be back and better than ever!

Meanwhile, as the festival ended, a new act prepared for a very different curtain call...

Ichigo tried to conceal his hatred which was boiling within him. Urahara eyed him curiously and folded his arms expectantly.

"What's wrong Ichigo? You seem...distracted? You should be happy. It's your wedding day after all..."

"I'm happy, it's just...There's something that has been plaguing my mind for a while now..."

"What is it? Is it about the money? Because believe me all your merch sold out in like two minutes!" Urahara's smile grew so wide his face could barely contain it.

"It's always about money with you. That is my problem." Urahara's smile faltered and he stared at Ichigo silently. "You seem to only be in this business for the money. It's as if you don't even like the music, you just want to hop on the bandwagon to get your pay check!"

Kisuke chuckled softly and pulled the brim of his hat down to cover his eyes. "Spot on, Ichigo. But this world is ruled by those with money. Even if you play the greatest music on earth, you can't make an impact without millions of dollars behind you. Do you get it now?" He smiled as he asked the question.

"No." Ichigo growled, dead pan. "Money doesn't mean anything to me. Happiness can't be bought."

"A hefty bribe might change your mind." Urahara joked.

Ichigo glared at him and the manager suddenly stopped laughing. "Urahara...you don't dream of becoming a rock god just for money. It's the music. It's everything good that goes hand in hand with the music. If you get a few million that's a bonus, but it isn't important."

"Poor child. I thought a person with such a sharp mind would be able to see through the lies. A god is nothing if he only has a guitar in his hands. To be a god, you need power! And with money...brings power!" Urahara pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "The weak and stupid hide behind their music as if it is something more than just a tune. They delude themselves and get sucked into the silly little world and start believing they are awesome...but it's all lies! Lies! Truthfully, they are nothing! Music cannot take over the world, but immense wealth on the other hand-"

Ichigo grabbed Urahara by the throat and slammed his into the wall. His eyes blazed like minute suns as he envisioned how he would kill the lowly worm that was his band manager.

"I'm sick of your bullshit Urahara. I can stand people being a little greedy, but to be so consumed by it that you would threaten people's lives just to get a few measly bucks...It's unforgivable!"

"What? You mean that little thing I said yesterday? How silly!" Urahara grunted as Ichigo punched him in the stomach with bone crushing force. Ichigo hurled his foe to the floor and clenched his fists, preparing for the next strike.

"That was not a threat, you know." Urahara spoke with such malice it made Ichigo wince. Urahara got back on his feet and lurched closer to Ichigo. "It was a prophecy!" Ichigo rolled out of the way of the sneak attack involving a hidden blade within Kisuke's sleeve.

Urahara took out the blade and revealed his zanpakuto. "Surely you haven't forgotten about shinigami? Have you been so drawn into this stupid little world that you've forgotten your other life? How pitiful, though I guess it makes things easier for me now."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo clambered back up.

"Well, this wedding was great. We surely raised a large sum. Even split up between us all I get a huge cut...However, there is one sure-fire way to become so wealthy. All I have to do...Is kill you all!"

"Bastard!" Ichigo rushed forward but Urahara jabbed his blade out with blinding speed, stopping merely a centimetre away from Ichigo's left eye. The stunned boy stared at the point of the blade.

"None of that, Kurosaki-san. You don't understand how this works so it's best if you don't stand in my way. Since you got this far I might as well explain it, since you won't be around to see it. If you are all killed, then the mourning metal-heads will buy memento's with all of their money. Even better, with you all dead the profit is all mine! Mine! Ha ha ha ha!"

"You fucking monster!" Ichigo growled.

"Oh, you haven't seen monsters yet!" Urahara pointed a finger at Ichigo and suddenly he was thrown into the wall several metres away. While he was knocked down, Urahara began chanting something in a deep voice that sounded like a more sinister version of a death growl.

"Coming of flood. Sickening god. Bring him to me. Torrent of blood. Forbidden technique part one...Servants of eternal death!" Urahara laughed maniacally and watched as the ground began to crack up.

Ichigo looked down at his feet and watched as the ground began to crack like a broken windscreen. In a matter of seconds a skeletal hand struck out and grasped his ankle. He cried out in alarm and kicked it away, jumping to a safer spot.

"Infernal death, a world in flames. No humans stand a chance. The pure ones fell into the abyss. On dead angels demons dance! Forbidden technique part two – Damnation Entrapment!"

The sky turned blood red and black clouds began to form, like a storm in hell. The walls began to crumble and great flames surrounded the area. Urahara's manic laughter was drowned out by the increasingly louder chorus of undead cries.

Skeletons rose from the ground and began looking for prey. Terrified roadies began running about in a panic, only to be captured and killed by the undead menace.

"This can't be happening!" Ichigo gasped.

"Quite fitting isn't it? It looks like something out of a music video, but this is as real as it gets. The only way to escape is to slay the caster, but with my horde of ghoulish servants that task is quite impossible. I'll end you all and then reap the rewards for myself!"

"No! I won't let you get away with this!" Ichigo rushed forward but was grabbed by several skeletal fiends. Ichigo retaliated by crushing their skulls with his fists. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he fought his way closer to Urahara. "Damn you! Get back here!"

Urahara strolled away casually, waving mockingly as he left. "Farewell, Ichigo. It's a shame I'll have no-one to help rule my new empire, but I guess it can't be helped...Good bye!"

"BASTARD!" Ichigo ran, shoulder charging the beasts on his way to his most hated enemy. "URAHARA! COME BACK AND FIGHT ME!" His efforts were in vain. Kisuke had vanished, leaving Ichigo and everyone else trapped with hell itself.

* * *

Rukia screamed as skeletal warriors crashed through the door and burst from the ground, like demonic plants.

Renji picked up a chair and smashed it across one skeleton, knocking him over but not killing it. He cursed and began throwing punches. Bony splinters caught in his hands but he continued to fight off the menacing horde.

"Renji!" Rukia cried out but Grimmjow held her back and shook his head.

"Let him be. He knows what he's doing."

"Bullshit!" Zaraki shoved them both into the far wall while he made his way to the battlefield. "There is no way I'm going to miss this! Kill 'em all!" Zaraki reached into his tattered coat and pulled out a sword, not a zanpakuto but a regular earthly katana. He swung the fine blade down on the first row of skeletons, cutting, crushing, splitting and annihilating the beasts.

Renji stepped back as Kenpachi cleared the doorway and went outside.

As the panicked group made slow progress they overheard desperate battle cries coming from a nearby scuffle. Fragments of bone were flying out from a large gathering of the bony monsters. Kenpachi slammed his sword down on the ground and the resulting shockwave cleared a large area around them. The progressed as far as they could toward the other brave fighter trapped in a sea of bones.

"RUKIA!" The unseen warrior roared. The voice was unmistakeable. No-one growled like that except for one person...

"Ichigo! I'm on my way!" Rukia began hyperventilating as she desperately searched for a way to rescue her husband. She came up with nothing and glared at the wall of the living dead. She cursed and then charged head on into them. Her small frame catapulted into them, blasting a hole right through their ranks.

The others followed while the army of ghouls were temporarily incapacitated. They made it to the centre of the ghastly ocean when they regrouped and reformed their ranks, trapping the group inside.

Kenpachi held up the rear, decimating anything made of bones in a five metre radius. Renji and Rukia fought on the front line, clawing their way towards Ichigo who was adding his own efforts to tunnel his way through to them. The others either cowered and watched on with teary eyes, or fought for their lives.

Grimmjow roared like a wild animal and swiped at them with his fists.

Tatsuke tugged on Inoue's arm, urging her to fight. "Come on Hime! You can take them on! You're a champ at karate!"

Orihime backed away and shook her head. "You're the fighter. Anyway, I'm not even that good at karate- Agh!" Orihime ducked under a clawed hand and then snapped her leg straight out, practically impaling the skeleton with her powerful kick.

Tatsuke's jaw dropped.

"Oh well...I guess you were right." Orihime giggled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head before having a sudden mood swing. "Get them!" She charged off and began assaulting the creatures with a sudden surge of adrenaline. Tatsuke joined her friend and used her incredible skills in the martial arts to kick some demon ass!

* * *

Urahara stood atop a self-made spire made of rock. He created it using his secret kido. From his vantage point he could see the whole area that was once the site of a metal festival and now a man-made hell.

He observed the battle between Soul Reaper and their friends against Kisuke's own undead servants. His forces were getting massacred, though that was only because the enemy were fighting all over the place. If they were cornered however, then the battle would turn in his favour...

Urahara scanned the battlefield and noticed the stage would be a perfect place to trap them. The crowd were already infested with the undead so escape that way would be impossible. If he could only get them to go there...

A wicked smile crossed Urahara's face and he sent a telepathic command to his minions.

* * *

"Hey! They're retreating!" Renji yelled out triumphantly. He charged through the fleeing horde and found Ichigo still grappling with a trio of skeletal ghouls. Just when he was about to intervene Rukia came out of nowhere and launched herself at the monsters, taking them down with wild punches and kicks.

Ichigo helped her up and they had their own reunion while the others regrouped around them. It seemed that they had won against the demons...But why?

Renji watched the beasts flee and scanned the surrounding area. "We've held them off, but they'll come back. We can't stay out here in the open fighting with just our fists...We need something powerful to destroy them..." Renji grasped his chin as he mused, but Rukia saved him the trouble and came to a decision for him.

"The fireworks cannon!" She pointed towards the stage.

"Yeah!" Grimmjow chuckled evilly. "Let's give 'em a pyro show they'll never forget!"

Everyone nodded and they set off towards their new weapon which was sitting alone by the side of the stage.

* * *

Urahara clapped his hands together and laughed. "Ha! They fell for it! If they think a few colourful explosions will save them then they are truly fools." The evil band manager turned diabolical warlord watched his prey take the stage. It was then that his maniacal laughter became a darker, sadistic chuckle.

"There is nowhere to run now! Let's see you escape this!" He thrust his arms out and chanted. "Hado 30 Flash of golden fire!" A blazing golden fireball shot forth from his hand and connected with the front of the stage, creating an impenetrable wall of hungry flames.

Just as it seemed the worst for the trapped band members, the army of the undead returned, their bleached bones almost blinding in the firelight.

Urahara threw his hands to the sky and laughed uproariously.

A grand battle worthy of a heavy metal music video. You know damn well it's only going to get better and better! Can Soul Reaper and co defeat such a powerful enemy? Find out in the next chapter!

Please review!


	21. 21: Heavy Metal Heroes

**Track 21: Heavy Metal Heroes**

The stage burst into flames as an unseen fireball collided with the barrier fence, spewing fire all over the area and creating a giant wall, barring any escape. Soul Reaper were trapped, doomed to die where they had lived, on stage.

Rukia began to weep and confided in Ichigo for support. She wept in his arms and they slowly rocked back and forth in an awkward and out of place dance. Ichigo stroked Rukia's cheek with the back of his hand and he whispered soothing words to her.

"Rukia, I promise...we will make it out of here alive. I will always protect you, to the very end and even if we die here today, you can be sure that I will die by your side!" Ichigo's words brought a weak smile to her face and she wiped her eyes before embracing him in a hug.

Most of the group watched them, but the remaining members of Soul Reaper set up the fireworks cannons and the pyrotechnic gear. Their jobs were rushed as the skeletal army was creeping ever closer, their blank, soulless eye sockets were like the pits of the abyss. Their unnatural life made things even more unnerving, especially to Grimmjow who was still in the dark about the afterlife.

Ichigo leaned in close and gently kissed Rukia's cheek. "We never had our dance...It's now or never."

Rukia closed her eyes and lost herself in the moment, imagining a better place, without raging fires and legions of skeletons thirsting for blood.

While they enjoyed themselves Renji and Grimmjow added the finishing touches to their weapons. They double checked everything over and then shared sadistic smirks. No matter how life threatening the moment, the prospect of going Rambo still brings a smile to anyone's face.

"Kenpachi! Let 'em go!" Renji commanded.

Zaraki, who was fighting on the front line twenty metres away, complied and began running backwards, luring the enemy closer.

"Three, two, one...FIRE!" Renji roared, before adding with a slight chuckle, "Works." He punched a switch and the black tube erupted, shooting a packed ball of gunpowder and other stuff.

The undead stared inquisitively at the little ball which exploded on the left flank spraying brightly coloured fire in all directions. The initial blast knocked down a large number and the resulting sparks finished them off, burning through their skulls and eroding whatever was keeping them alive.

"Yee-haw!" Renji raised his fist and cheered, sounding like a Texas Ranger.

"Again! Again!" Grimmjow clapped like a little kid watching a dare devil stunt.

Renji loaded the next ball of beautiful explosives. "Next up, we have the pretty dolphin blue." Renji cheered again as he fired off the next round. The burning blue rain took down more of the ghastly creatures.

"Zaraki, hold them off while I reload!" The red-head-Rambo commanded.

Kenpachi smashed his fists together and chuckled menacingly. "Alright! Time for the drum solo!" He charged into the fray and hurled furious punches that shattered the bones as if they were piñata's

Grimmjow flexed his fingers, eagerly awaiting his turn to deal some destruction to the ghoulish fiends. He was losing himself in thought when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Instinctively he lashed out but his fist was caught in a powerful grip. He was surprised to see it was the Ichigo's friend, Tatsuki.

"Hey, I've got an idea." She said excitedly, rubbing her hands together.

"I'm listening."

The girl pointed to one of the rolled up banners. "If we find some petrol or gasoline then we can drown that in it and then drop it from the stands up there." She pointed to the scaffolding on the side of the stage. "Then you can blast it and they'll go 'Boom!'"

Grimmjow went silent for a minute and then his face lit up. "Hell yes! That's pretty clever, I never would have thought of that!"

Tatsuki blushed and averted her gaze. "All we need is something flammable. There are a few trucks still around the back but we'd have to slip past those skeletons first..."

Grimmjow raised a finger like a cartoon character getting an idea. The only difference was the lack of a little light bulb above his head. "Take Kenpachi and that other girl with you. He can protect you while you find some of the good stuff!"

Tatsuki nodded and jogged over to Orihime to give her the battle plan.

Grimmjow approached Renji and gave his own instructions. "Hold back on the fire. We'll need a few blasts ready. One to distract them, then a few to hold the line while Kenpachi's gone."

Renji nodded. "Alright, let's get some ammo ready then." The two of them began mixing the gunpowder with magnesium and other things before rolling them up in thin material and then packing them into the numerous tubes of the cannon.

"Kenpachi! Fall back!"

The plan was retold and Kenpachi joined the two young girls and prepared for their mission. Tatsuki and Orihime both carried containers to hold the gasoline and Kenpachi cracked his knuckles.

Grimmjow started a countdown and then raised a fist in the air. "GO!"

Renji fired off a round and the sparkly, colourful explosion knocked the skeletons off guard. While they were still reeling Kenpachi and the recon team darted past their right flank and made their way out of sight, heading towards one of the large trucks that never left.

* * *

Ichigo and Rukia continued to dance, their eyes closed and their imaginations running wild. It was nice to escape from the harshness of reality.

From atop his spire, Urahara watched them with a sickening smile.

"Enjoy your time together, for this shall be your last moments on this earth! How sweet it is to see hopeless dreams shattered...Say, where has that brute Kenpachi gone?" Kisuke scanned the battle field and saw no traces of him. "Hmm. He must have already fallen. Wonderful!"

Another brightly coloured explosion caught his eye.

"A clever tactic, but there is not enough explosives there to destroy my army. They can't possibly believe there would only be one wave? But I shall let them believe they are winning for now...Let them lose themselves to overconfidence and then break them down like the weaklings that they are! Ha ha ha ha!"

* * *

Kenpachi kept guard while Orihime and Tatsuki drained the flammable blood from the large tour truck. When the two containers were full they covered the fuel tank up again and began their journey back to their friends.

The girls dragged the tanks while Kenpachi prowled the unwary opponent before them. They had not been noticed even when they were right behind the legion of ghouls. They were going well until...

"AAAAGGHH!" Orihime tripped and knocked her tank over, spilling half of the contents on the ground in a wide spreading puddle that sank under their feet.

The skeletons spun on their bleached bone heels and glared at their new enemy. Inoue screamed more and began to panic.

"Grr! Enough of this! Let's go!" Kenpachi lifted the container onto his shoulder and carried it while bashing away at the enemy with his other hand. The container bounced on his shoulder, occasionally spilling down onto him. Inoue and Tatsuki worked together to carry the other container.

One of Renji's fireworks blew a hole in the side flank, giving them room to move back towards the camp. As they began to get surrounded Kenpachi handed back the container and returned to using his full force to decimate his undead foes.

Inoue and Tatsuki heaved the heavy objects back but Grimmjow and Isshin arrived as back-up to help them get back faster.

Despite the slip-up they still managed to succeed without casualties. It was a victory even if they lost half a tank of gasoline in the process.

Grimmjow and Isshin carried the tanks the rest of the way while Inoue and Tatsuki unfurled the banner. They worked together drenching the large banner in the flammable liquid. When it was ready to go Grimmjow returned to the stage flamethrower which he had broken and made to face the enemy rather than straight upwards.

Meanwhile Inoue and Tatsuki climbed the scaffold with the banner in hand. They made it to the top and awaited the signal.

Grimmjow flexed his itchy trigger finger and waited for the enemy to gain ground. When they were close enough he issued an order. "Kenpachi! Clear out!"

The bloodthirsty maniac dragged two skeletons with him and when he was at a safe distance he began to pummel them.

Grimmjow gave a thumbs up to the girls and the banner was thrown down onto the enemy. The flammable blanket covered a large portion of their army and they began shuffling about uncertainly.

Grimmjow smirked and his eyes flickered like little flames within his skull. "Nighty night fuckers!" He pulled the trigger and what would usually be a towering pillar of flames turned into a propelled blast of hells wrath. The flames hit the banner and it exploded almost instantly. The raging flames spread everywhere, consuming an even larger portion of the army, destroying over half of their forces. The inferno became out of control however and began to spread along a path of footsteps...Leading to one Zaraki Kenpachi.

As the vengeful flames engulfed his body, the shinigami turned drummer turned warrior howled in agony. He fell to his knees and slapped the flames in an attempt to quench them. When that failed he dropped to the ground and rolled about, though that also did nothing.

"Kenpachi!" Ichigo snapped out of his blissful ignorance and was thrown back into the brutal reality of the present. He stared with wide, terrified eyes as his friend and band-mate was consumed by hungry, flesh eating tongues of blazing malevolence.

Kenpachi realised his life was destined to end this day. He would soon die, but the least he could do was take as many of them down with him. He charged right into the middle of the remaining ranks of skeletons and fought with renewed vigour. His broken, bloodied and beaten body refused to falter and he avenged himself with his undying rage. As his flesh melted like something out of a Cannibal Corpse song he knew his fight was over. His body no longer did his bidding and he collapsed, waiting for either the flames to consume him...Or the undead fiends.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ichigo cried. He watched the ghouls swarm over Kenpachi's corpse and tear him apart. All the while the faint sound of manic laughter assaulted his ears.

Ichigo glared up at the stone spire that towered over them. Although he could not see him, Ichigo could sense Urahara was up there. The rage boiled over within him and he unleashed the greatest roar the word had ever heard. It was a sound so mighty even Satan would tremble to it.

"URAHARA! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Rukia tried to stop her lover, but Ichigo charged past her and snatched up a guitar. He set the volume up full and then turned up the remaining stack of amps. He turned everything up to eleven and then blasted out a deafening chord. The shockwave from the amps made a temporary gap in the wall of flames blocking the spire and in that moment Ichigo charged through. When he was only halfway through the ocean of orange death it began to seal the gap.

Ichigo assumed the worst but a shield enveloped him and he glanced over his shoulder at Orihime who was showing visible signs of stress.

"Hurry Kurosaki-kun! I can't hold it!"

Ichigo nodded and ran full tilt through the flames, like a heavy metal Moses through a literally red sea. When he passed the flames the shield shattered and all sight of the stage was blocked by the roaring inferno.

With no other way but up, Ichigo began to ascend the rocky spire.

* * *

Meanwhile, back on-stage Orihime passed out, exhausted from holding up the barrier for Ichigo's crossing. Tatsuki and the Kurosaki girls watched over her while the others fought on bravely.

Isshin held up the front line, using a microphone stand as a makeshift spear to defeat his foes.

Renji blasted off the final few rounds of fireworks and wiped out the majority of the enemy forces. The rest were wiped out by another blast from Grimmjow's custom made flamethrower. The last few stragglers were beaten down by Rukia. When they were all gone they regrouped and let out a small cheer. All eyes fell on the towering spire and the orange haired boy only halfway to the top.

"It's in Ichigo's hands now...We're counting on you Kurosaki..." Renji muttered.

"Don't screw up." Grimmjow added.

Rukia watched with clouded eyes. She clasped her hands together and pleaded to her unaware husband. "Please Ichigo...Don't die!"

* * *

Urahara glared at the irritating orange haired boy. "So, you made it this far...Impressive. But be warned Kurosaki, I won't go easy on you. When we finally face each other, it shall be for the last time...I'll be waiting, Kurosaki..."

The action is really heating up (Get it? Because of the fire and everything? Oh well screw you then!) The final battle between Ichigo and Urahara is about to begin and yes, there may be a guitar or too in there. Don't miss the grand finale!

Also, don't forget to check out my exclusive artwork for this story at my deviant art account! (Link in my profile) 

Please review!


	22. 22: To The Bitter End

**Track 22: To The Bitter End**

Ichigo scaled the harsh cliff towards the flat peak where Urahara was waiting for their final showdown. He climbed for what felt like an eternity. His arms ached and his knees were weak. His fingers were grazed from numerous slips and he had badly grazed the palm of his left hand. He soldiered on, determined to carry out Urahara's execution. For what he had done, there was no excuse, no mercy...Only death!

When he at long last reached the top, Urahara approached him, clapping sarcastically. "My, my, you made it all the up here. I guess you think the power of rock is on your side or some stupid thing." As Kisuke laughed Ichigo agreed.

"That is true."

"Huh?"

"With the power of rock, anything is possible! That is why I'm going to use it to destroy you!" Ichigo clenched his fists and glared with all the hatred he could muster.

"I almost feel sorry for you...Such a delusional fool. Show me this power of rock then. I'll crush it like an insignificant little insect!"

"You're on Hat and Clogs!" Ichigo charged with his fist bared. He swung a wide hook which Urahara ducked under. The shinigami turned band manager turned sorcerer warlord threw an uppercut which connected with Ichigo's chin. The orange haired boy staggered about and in his distracted state left himself open to more.

Urahara threw a kidney punch, following in with the elbow of his opposite side and then performing a roundhouse kick to the side of the head. Ichigo was sent flying and he fell face first into the ground.

Urahara laughed mockingly while he watched Ichigo squirm. "You are reaching for the stars Kurosaki. I'm a master of hand to hand combat. No-one can beat me in a fight, no matter how arrogant they are."

"Arrogant? Coming from you?" Ichigo said cockily. He wiped blood from his nose and got back on his feet, ready for another round. He walked forward, waiting for Urahara to make the first move. The veteran fighter rushed forward and tried to tackle his opponent, but Ichigo stepped aside and spun in a circle, performing a back kick which connected with Urahara's jaw.

The corrupted foe was sent rolling through the dust, staining his black coat. He grumbled and cursed before charging again. He leapt into the air and tried to do a flying kick, though Ichigo saw through the move and dived out of the way. The two combatants ran head on, colliding with their shoulders. Both managed to knock the other down and they lunged at each other, grappling in the dirt. Ichigo managed to get Kisuke in a choke hold, but the well trained warrior managed to get out by raking his nails across Ichigo's face.

They rolled over and got back on their feet. They threw wild punches, landing many, but failing to knock the opponent down. They almost went blow for blow, trying to knock the other out. The strange boxing match lasted for a minute before Ichigo staggered back.

Urahara thought he had won but Ichigo charged and leapt into the air, driving his knee into Kisuke's gut. Urahara crumpled. But one finger lazily rose and shot a bolt of white lighting. Ichigo ducked and the blast struck the sky instead.

Urahara cursed and then muttered a short phrase before sending a red fireball towards his foe. Ichigo dived out of the explosion zone and then ran away from the second one. He ran in a full circle and was about to head for the sorcerer when he tripped.

Kisuke pressed his palms out and prepared to launch the final shot, but Ichigo had other plans. He picked up a rock and hurled it at his foe. The chunk of rock hit him square in the face and Urahara was put off guard.

Ichigo made his way back towards his foe while throwing more rocks to keep hi occupied. When he came within reach he drop kicked him, his boots crunching against Urahara's jaw.

The evil band manager dropped like a bag of cement and suddenly stopped moving but Ichigo was not done yet. He grabbed Kisuke by the hair and slammed his head into the ground, hard enough to make a small crater. He then repeated the move three more times before standing up and stomping on his skull. He stared at Kisuke for a moment to see if he was still alive, but the man did not move. Ichigo stepped back and kicked him in the face before finally leaving the vile man to rest in peace. The raw and bloody battle had come to an end. Ichigo dusted himself off and tried to get his breath back.

He approached the edge of the spire and studied the area below. Something was wrong. The fires were still raging and the forbidden kido was still in effect. If that were the case, then...

"Oh shit." Ichigo said deadpan just before a guitar was slammed into the back of his head. He dropped to his knees and glanced dazedly over his shoulder at the bloodied and beaten band manager who was out for revenge.

"You bastard!" He roared as he swung the instrument like a baseball bat, knocking Ichigo forward, dangerously close to the edge. Urahara stomped on his back and cursed. "Unforgivable! I'll make you pay for that Ichigo Kurosaki! I'm going to kill you with the object you cherished so much..." The battered electric guitar in his hands suddenly changed shape so that the body became a large blade. The axe had literally become an axe.

Ichigo stared at it in awe for a moment before the sense of danger kicked in.

Urahara lifted the strange weapon and brought it down with extreme force. Ichigo tilted his head to one side to avoid being cleaved in half. He then kicked Urahara in the machine heads. Urahara staggered back and allowed Ichigo to get back up. While he recovered Ichigo threw punch after punch after punch, decimating his opponent who was utterly powerless even with an axe in his hands.

Ichigo grabbed the weapon and yanked it out of Urahara's grasp. Unfortunately before he could take a swing at his foe skeletal hands burst out of the ground and tried to attack him. Ichigo stepped back and used the axe to hack down the approaching skeletons that dug themselves out of the earth.

Meanwhile Urahara began chanting the incantation for a devastating kido spell...One that would annihilate his orange haired enemy.

Ichigo fought on, though more and more kept rising from the earth, like a never ending supply. As soon as he cut down one, two more would replace it, then four more would replace those two. It was a downhill battle and Ichigo was getting pushed closer and closer to the edge until he was balancing with half of each foot on solid ground and half with no support. He wobbled and struggled to hold the axe and remain balanced. It was either drop the weapon or fall and dropping the weapon wouldn't do much good...

Urahara laughed insanely as he muttered the final words of the kido. "Hado 63...Raikoho!" An explosion of blazing golden energy burst from his palms and propelled itself through the wall of writhing skeletons and out into the sky.

Urahara laughed manically while clapping his hands. "Ha! Even you couldn't have survived that Kurosaki!" The sky was still glowing yellow from the massive blast that consumed the sky. The rocks still burned and absolutely everything atop the spire had been incinerated, bar the insane shinigami Urahara Kisuke. He strolled towards the edge of the spire and glared down at the stunned fools down below on the stage.

"Ha. They watched their best friend die. How amusing. I wonder who should be next..." Kisuke mused, only to be interrupted rudely.

"You haven't finished with me Urahara!" A call came from below.

Urahara cursed under his breath. "That voice...Ichigo! How?" He leaned out over the edge and found Ichigo dangling from the sheer rock face. He clung desperately to the axe which he had embedded in the rock to form a hand hold. "Clever. You jumped just at the last second to avoid the blast...Admirable...But foolish. Pale lightning!" A bolt of sizzling electricity shot down and struck Ichigo in the chest. He was thrown out into the open air and began to plummet down to the ground far below.

"Hahahahahahaha! Die you stupid fool!"

"Bakudo 37, Suspending star!" A female voice screamed. A spiritual safety net formed and caught the falling Ichigo. In the blink of an eye the perpetrator had flash stepped over to Ichigo and flash stepped back to the stage.

Rukia glared up at Kisuke and smirked. "You aren't the only shinigami here Urahara! We'll take you on!" She was about to draw her sword when a hand gently covered hers and pushed it aside. She gazed down at Ichigo who was slowly sitting up. "Ichigo..."

"Don't worry Rukia. I'll handle him." He groaned as he got back on his feet. He looked around and limped over to the side of the stage where a guitar was leaning against an amp. He stared at the six stringed guitar...The Halo Hellfire...The guitar that started it all. Now it was going to finish it.

Ichigo picked it up and then turned all the amps up to eleven. He glared at the cowardly foe hiding atop his spire. It was about time to knock him down a peg...Or a few hundred metres.

Ichigo cleared his throat and then struck a thick power chord. The ground around the spire began to crack, but it still stood firm. Ichigo shrugged and then played a fast paced, crunchy riff while banging his head to keep time.

The bottom of the spire splintered and a giant crack was beginning to form, but it wasn't enough.

Grimmjow took up his bass and added in his own ferocity. Renji collected his electric guitar and plugged in. The trio of guitarists all belted out a furious song that managed to break the spires base and force it to collapse in on itself.

Rukia took the guitar from Ichigo while he went off to find a mic. When he found one he gripped it so tightly that it almost fell apart. He took a deep breath and then...

"!"

The spire exploded into tiny pieces and Urahara was sent hurtling towards the ground. He used kido to save himself and then created a rocky platform that was level with the stage. He glared at his opponents.

The surviving members of Soul Reaper smirked. Ichigo chuckled lightly. "That, my friend, is the power of rock!"

"Bullshit! I'll grind you all to dust!" Urahara created another axe guitar and rushed onto the stage.

Everyone but Ichigo stepped back. He took Rukia's guitar and then stood his ground, waiting for his most hated enemy to arrive. He waited until he was right in front of him before spinning on his heels and running away. Ichigo ran towards one of the amps and began to climb up it.

"You cannot escape me! I will kill you all!" Urahara stopped dead in his tracks when a deafening note rang out of the towering amp. It made his bones quake and nearly knocked him over, yet it was only one note.

Ichigo grinned menacingly from atop the deadly speaker stack. "I'll use the very thing you abused to end your worthless life! Prepare to die...Metal style!"

Ichigo did a brief countdown in his head before playing a new heavy riff. The shockwaves from the amp paralysed Urahara and he remained trapped there while Ichigo progressed through the song which the others soon recognised was 'Hollow'. They came back and joined in, more to help Ichigo and to make the song complete, rather than to slay Urahara.

Rukia picked up a spare guitar and added extra leads to the song.

After a while the others played quieter and left Ichigo to go solo. The wild orange haired boy glared at Urahara.

"Prepare to die Urahara! !" He screamed uninterrupted for about fifteen seconds, the resounding echo from the amps made Kisuke's nose bleed and gave him a migraine worse than any other experienced before.

Ichigo progressed into a guitar solo, using every technique he knew, his fingers dancing along the elegant neck of the guitar. The amps began to emit smoke and small sparks flew out.

Urahara collapsed to his knees and grasped his skull. He was suffering from internal haemorrhaging and his innards were getting crushed by the immense shock waves blasting out of the stack of amps. The song was literally killing him. He glared at Ichigo and raised a shaking fist though Ichigo took no notice, to absorbed in his deadly guitar solo.

"Bas...tard!" Urahara grunted. He raised his hands and prepared to do a final devastating kido. It was his only chance to survive. He had to destroy the speakers and the cursed boy along with them. He struggled through the chant as Ichigo's solo became more frenetic. Kisuke felt his bones quake under the pressure. Still he soldiered on, determined to destroy Ichigo, no matter what.

Ichigo performed a fast paced scale that went higher and higher in pitch, progressing further along the neck.

Urahara tensed his shoulders and held his hands out firm, still chanting the incantation for the final devastating attack.

Meanwhile Ichigo began screaming again. "AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH! IIIIII FEEEEEEEEEEEL HOLLOOOOOOOOOOW!"

By the time he finished the blood curdling and utterly haunting screams Urahara's incantation was nearly finished. Blood dribbled down his chin and out of his ears and nose, but he ignored it. His veins popped up and his flesh paled. He was running out of time. It would be a race to the finish, either Ichigo's death...Or Kisuke.

Ichigo clawed at his guitar as he played the final riffs of the song. "Hollow! This hole inside!"

"Hado 88..." Urahara growled, blood oozing from his eyes.

"Hollow!" Ichigo roared. While belting out a blistering solo.

"Flying dragon..." Urahara stared at the blue energy crackling around his fingertips.

"Taking over..." Ichigo shrieked, his body surrounded by a blue aura.

"Striking heaven…" Urahara snarled, his whole body trembling. He could barely contain the enormous surge of energy about to be released. His hands shook frenziedly and sweat poured as freely as the blood that streamed from every pore in his body.

"My fucking-" Ichigo's voice deepened as his guitar whined in an incredible lead riff.

"Shaking thunder cannon!" Urahara roared.

"MIIIIIIIIIIIND!" Ichigo screamed in the same instant that Urahara finished his incantation.

'KA-BOOM!'

Please leave a review. Come on, you know you want to. Also, don't miss the final chapter...'Outro'.

Remember, _**REVIEW!**_


	23. Final Track: Outro

**Final Track: Outro**

The two foes glared at each other, each one with a word just on the tip of their tongue, ready to be unleashed on the other.

Urahara's body became consumed by the crackling blue energy. It singed his uniform and seared his flesh but he contained it enough to send it towards his opponent.

Ichigo let out the unrelenting roar of the great horned king himself. The amps exploded, unable to contain such a mighty sound. The roar was so great it created a shockwave strong enough to make the entire stage buckle and fall apart. Urahara screamed in agony as his whole body began to give out. He gave one last glare to Ichigo before his head exploded and his broken body failed to control the immensely powerful kido, making it explode in his very arms, incinerating his entire body and destroying every single trace of the vile record agent.

The explosion rocked the stage and decimated everything in its path, knocking down everyone and everything within a large radius. The whole are was reduced to rubble in the blink of an eye, an explosion so devastating and huge none would believe it could exist outside of a Hollywood blockbuster. Such an explosion however, did occur and it put all movie explosions to shame.

A great blue flaming mushroom cloud rose into the sky. Lightning crackled around it and spat out at anything that came within reach. The flames reached up to the clouds and burned them to cinders.

The ring of fire which Urahara had created broke apart and disappeared leaving nothing but destruction in its wake.

The battle had ended. The world was once again, at least for another day...

* * *

Some time later, a distraught young woman scoured the remains of the stage, trying to find her friends. She stumbled upon a badly wounded girl with spiky black hair. Underneath her lay the girl she had protected with her own body.

Rukia laid Tatsuki and Inoue against a large chunk of rock and left them to recuperate while she searched for the others.

Her frantic search brought about the discovery of the Kurosaki family. The two young daughters lay unconscious, trapped within the twisted scaffolding of the stage. Their father laid only a metre away, his head bleeding from a severe gash from a falling steel pole. Rukia sealed up the cut enough to ensure survival and then dragged the children from the wreckage.

She had found all the guests, but the other members of Soul Reaper were still missing. She stumbled about, tripping on loose rocks and poles and rods and planks. On one of her clumsy falls she landed on a soft object. She sat up and looked down on the dusty body beneath her. Dull blue hair was matted together with dried blood and dirt. She gently lifted the man up and was shocked to hear him cough violently.

Grimmjow turned over slowly and gazed into Rukia's eyes. "Rukia...What happened? I must have been pissed as...Because I blacked out..." He smiled weakly and Rukia laughed at his little joke. She helped him to his feet and he joined in the search, limping around the piles of rubble in search of life.

After ten minutes of silent searching Grimmjow began waving with one hand and yelling excitedly. Rukia ran over and helped him lift up a large chunk of stage to free Renji.

The wounded red-head was covered in blood, scratches, grazes, cuts and bruises. He must have fallen through the stage when it crumpled and was then crushed a second time during the explosion. They lifted him into a seated position and Grimmjow patted his friends shoulder with his one unbroken arm. The other arm remained twisted and limp by his side.

Rukia watched them with a frown. "Grimmjow, take care of him. I'll keep searching." She turned to leave but Grimmjow stopped her. She turned back and gazed into Grimmjow's icy blue eyes.

"He's out there somewhere...I can...Feel it." He grinned and Rukia nodded meekly before running off.

Grimmjow tucked his dislocated arm into a comfortable position and then sighed. "Went out with a bang huh Ren?" Being unconscious, Renji did not reply. Grimmjow laughed and bowed his head. "Yeah, I guess you're right...Now ain't the time for jokes..." Again, Renji gave no reply. Grimmjow glared at him. "Oh shut up!"

Meanwhile, Rukia continued scouring the wreckage. Things were looking hopeless when at long last she felt something. In her heart she felt the flicker of hope...She could sense Ichigo. It was weak, but it was definitely there. Ichigo was alive...And he was close!

Rukia doubled her efforts and began digging through the scraps. She cut her hands on broken glass and metal but ignored the pain and the blood, having seen enough of it now to barely be bothered by it anymore. She hurled chunks of rock and wood out of her way and tunnelled through the debris only to find nothing. She sighed and headed back out into the open air.

She tried once again to sense the weak flickering pulse of Ichigo's soul. It took a while to find it again, but when she did she traced it more accurately to a new spot where she did the same digging routine. She hurt herself several more times, but her undying determination to see her loved one again pushed her through the agony and kept her on the path to her goal.

The pain was worth it when she discovered a bare arm sticking out from a tightly packed pile of rubble. She ran to it and desperately tugged at the top layers, trying to clear it away. The top layer, a chunk of the stage floor, was too heavy and she could barely move it. She increased her efforts and dragged the thing out, only to have it fall on her. She coughed up blood and sobbed pitifully as she struggled in vain to lift the heavy object off of herself.

She began to see patches of colour crossing her vision and tried to follow it with her gaze, only to have it disappear...then the splotches of black appeared. She cried out to no-one but her own mind and begged for the blotches to go away and leave her alone. She swiped at the air as if they were actually there in front of her, though her efforts produced no results.

She exhausted herself quickly and her shoulders slumped back. She lay back and stared at the clouds that floated far overhead. Her grieving mind produced the image of an Ichigo-shaped cloud. She sobbed as her life began to drain away. The agony became worse and worse until it was unbearable. She screamed out and cursed, cursed herself for being too weak to meet her lover again after all they had been through. It was the worst pain she had felt in her entire hundred and fifty year life.

Jut as the lights began to fade away she saw a silhouette stand over her...

* * *

TWO WEEKS LATER

KARAKURA HOSPITAL

~Grrrrraaaaaaaaaaagggggghhhhh!~

Ichigo banged his head along to the song that played on the complimentary Ipod he had been given. He grinned wickedly when a solo started and he checked to make sure no-one was around before performing air guitar. He enjoyed himself for a while until a knock came at the door, making him yelp like a frightened dog. He switched off the device and cleared his parched throat.

"Come in."

The door opened slowly and a doctor with long black hair and pale skin approached him. On closer inspection he was wearing gothic face paint but Ichigo said nothing. The doctor studied him and smiled. "Good, you seem to be in a good mood today."

"I sure am. I get out of this god-damned bed for the first time in two weeks!"

The doctor chuckled and then looked off distantly. "Yes." He murmured distractedly. "Your friends have healed well. Most of them have checked out...Except for...Um..." The doctor trailed off.

"Who?" Ichigo asked impatiently.

"Huh?" The doctor asked, playing dumb.

"You said everyone has checked out except for one person! Who is it?" Ichigo roared.

The doctor looked down at his feet and made a strange choking noise before looking back up to his patient. "Your wife." He said dead-pan.

"Wife?"

"Mrs Kuchiki." The doctor confirmed.

"Oh yeah...I nearly forgot...How is she?" Ichigo's fierce glare died and left behind a soft, worried expression.

"She is stable, but her injuries are severe. It will be a month or two at the least until she can be released." The doctor rolled his eyes, anticipating the question that was itching to be unleashed. "Would you like to see her?"

The doctor led him down the hall to a larger room where a young girl lay in a hospital bed. Numerous tubes were stuck in her arms and machines were plugged in on all sides of the room. The doctor left Ichigo in peace and closed the door.

Ichigo sat on the faded, synthetic leather seat and shifted uncomfortably on the torn padding. His gaze was focused on the serene expression frozen on Rukia's pale face. He stroked her cheek and sighed. A tear welled up in the corner of his eye and he blinked to stop it from falling.

"Rukia..." He leaned over and kissed her ice cold lips, getting a tingle down his spine as he did so. More tears gushed forth and he failed to suppress his rampant emotions, weeping uncontrollably. He closed his eyes and was startled when a delicate hand wiped away his tears. His eyes shot open and he gazed into the hypnotic ocean blue orbs that were Rukia's eyes. He whispered her name soothingly and then hugged her gently, not wanting to hurt her fragile, broken body.

The embraced each other and let out all their sorrow and pain in privacy where their vulnerable sides were hidden from the public eye. They remained like that for an hour before the doctor arrived to split them up and send Ichigo on his way home.

* * *

THREE MONTHS LATER

PRESS CONFERENCE

A reporter faced a camera. She fiddled with her tied back hair while the cameraman did a silent countdown with his fingers. When he got to two she lifted her microphone and gave a beaming smile. When only one finger remained up a single thought crossed her mind.

_It's show time baby!_

"Hi guys, I'm Abby Heartrot from MMTV-" She gave a sweet little smile and then explained. "That's Metal Music Television for those just tuning in. Anyway, I'm here in Karakura town where the members of Soul Reaper are going to make their first public announcement since the mystifying events of Deathfest only a few months back."

The crowd behind her suddenly fell silent and Abby glanced over her shoulder, only to turn back with another beaming smile.

"Here they are!"

The camera focused on the four sombre looking musicians as they took up their places at a long table covered in microphones. They waved timidly to the fans and journalists before taking their seats.

The leader of the group, Ichigo Kurosaki leaned forward and spoke into the nearest mic.

"Hello everyone. I'm sure you're dying to know about what we've been up to for the past few months, but unfortunately we've been pretty lazy. We've been in and out of hospitals and had to sort out the funeral arrangements for our late drummer Kenpachi Zaraki. We've also had to do so many news stories and stuff, so we've been too hard pressed to get anything else sorted."

A light murmur ran through the crowd.

"Now don't fret. The events of Deathfest won't hold us down. Today, we are proud to announce that a new album will be in the works and also a world tour! So hurry and get your tickets while they still last!"

The crowd roared.

"Yes! Now that Rukia's wounds have healed up fully, we're going on the road starting right here in Karakura Town!" Ichigo worked up the crowd while the others just clapped and cheered. To them, a world tour would be a welcome relief from what they had been through recently. They needed it as much as their loyal fans, so in the end of the day everyone would win...Except for pop music (But they never win! Mwahahaha!)

The press conference went well and some interviews were given for numerous magazines. A surging ocean of fans waited for them outside and when the door opened the security guards had to do what they did best and hold the crazed legionnaires off.

Ichigo stared at them and then turned to his friends with a wide smirk. "You gotta love being a rock star!" He then did a run-up before diving into the crowd. He screamed like a lunatic as he crowd surfed through the street.

The others laughed for a while until it was too hard to resist. Then they followed suit.

"SOUL REAPER LIVES ON!" Ichigo roared triumphantly. His fans threw him into the air and then caught him, almost like a living, breathing, screaming trampoline. Ichigo raised his hands and gave devil horns. "You want another scream?"

"YEAH!" Was the crowds reply.

"I can't hear you!"

"YEAH!" they repeated, more urgently now.

"Alright then! Here it goes!"

Ichigo took a deep breath and ended this story the same way it began...With an awesome, mighty roar.

"!"

**Bleached Metal: End**

Well, I hope you enjoyed the story. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, your support is what made this story the masterpiece that it became. Thank you to everyone who read the story, without readers this story would not exist. And finally, a huge thank you to every metal-head, emo, goth, punk, satanist and Otaku out there. We are an army that will not be defeated. Be proud of what you are, otherwise the wonderful world of Metal will die out...And we cannot let that happen!

Please review and don't miss exclusive bonus chapters which will be released shortly. Also, check out the exclusive artworks on Deviantart (Link is on my profile. So far there are only two pics but more will be added soon enough.)

Note: The bonus chapter is an interview with the band so suggestions for questions are welcome. Either pm or give them in a review. Please give me suggestions, it'll help a lot.

\m/ Rock on! \m/


	24. Bonus Track: Interviews

**Bonus Track: Interviews**

Soul Reaper gave multiple interviews before and after the events of Deathfest. The following interview was conducted only a week before Deathfest. It was the last interview with the late Kenpachi Zaraki and Urahara Kisuke.

* * *

The members of Soul reaper huddled together on a leather cough awaiting the arrival of their interviewer.

They only had to wait ten minutes and then the door opened and a small framed young girl strolled in with a beaming smile on her face. She wore a black singlet with a pentagram emblazoned on it and she carried a rolled up sheet of paper, a CD and a notebook and pen. She took a seat on the one-seater opposite them and giggled nervously as she studied the group.

"Wow...its incredible meeting you guys. You are currently the biggest thing in the metal world at the moment according to your label Nuclear Blast. How does that feel?"

All eyes fell on Ichigo who obligingly answered. "Well, it's great to know that we have such a large following of supporters from such early days. I mean we never expected to go from zero to hero in only a couple of month's time. It's been great and I'm sure it's only gonna get better!"

The young girl nodded. "Cool. So I've got a few questions just from fans. First up is for Ichigo Kurosaki. Is that your real hair colour and if it is why don't you dye it to something less...Orange?"

Ichigo cocked his head. "What kind of question is that? Who cares what colour my hair is?"

The girl frowned. "Well this fan-"

"It is! There! I said it! It's my natural colour. Nobody believes me but it's real. Anyway, why would I change it? It makes me stand out in a crowd." Ichigo answered.

"It is a gay colour though." Grimmjow muttered.

"Shut up! It is not a gay colour! Anyway, you have baby blue hair so you can't talk!"

"Blue ain't gay." Renji added.

"Don't you get involved mister...Uh...carrot top!" Ichigo snapped childishly.

"Carrots are orange, not red, you retard!" Renji yelled back. "You're carrot top!"

While the moronic argument ensued Rukia led the interviewer to the other side of the room. "Don't mind them. They belong in a zoo. So what was the next question?"

The girl watched the fight ensue for a moment and then blinked down at her sheet. "Oh...Um..." She trailed off before finding her place again. "Oh right! So Rukia how does it feel to be the only girl in the band, surrounded by such wild guys?"

"It's a trial...It really is. Harems only work for guys. I mean the constant dirty jokes are bearable and the smell isn't that bad." Rukia pointed to one of nine automatic air fresheners in the room. "I think the worst part is all the advances from them...I mean it's as if they all want me for themselves. Just today I've been asked out twice, been given flowers, been asked to go 'round back' and all week Grimmjow's been grabbing my ass. In fact once he-"

"Okay, we'll have to stop there!" The girl yelled, her cheeks burning red. "The next question is for Renji."

The two women glanced over at the fight which was showing no sign of ending. Rukia groaned and rolled her eyes. "Skip it for now. Next?"

"Um, Zaraki Kenpachi." The girl murmured. "Where did he go?" Just then an immense shadow fell over and a penetrating gaze burned into her back.

"I'm right here." Zaraki rasped before bursting out laughing. The girl however had been reduced to tears and was curled up in a ball on the seat. Rukia comforted her for a while until she was fit to resume the interview.

"So...One of your fans asked...'Zaraki, you are one tough-" She paused for a moment and the resumed. "So, which do you prefer, a mosh pit or a good ol' street brawl?"

Zaraki scratched his sunken cheek and frowned. "Good question. I'm not sure, I mean there are good things in both of them, but I guess a mosh pit has a sound track to go with it so I'd go with moshing."

"Ok." The girl wrote that down.

"I mean, as long as you get to beat the crap out of a bunch of people it's good, but in a street fight you can kill a few of them..."

"OK!" The girl stressed. Trying to move on.

"Once I poked a guy's eye out but then I dropped it and accidentally stepped on it. It took me ages to clean my shoe..." Kenpachi went on.

"I SAID OKAY!" The girl screamed, having another emotional breakdown.

After another pause she was able to continue. By then the hair colour fight had ended and Renji's question could be addressed. "So Renji. Are your eyebrows fake?"

Renji folded his arms and scowled. "Guess!"

"Well-"

"Since when do eyebrows grow like this? Of course they are fake!"

"But do you even have eyebrows?" The girl asked.

"No. I got rid of them and got the area tattooed instead. It just suits it better." Renji seemed proud though everyone else seemed less than impressed.

"Okay. This is for Grimmjow. Where did the mask go?" The girl read aloud from her sheet.

Grimmjow chuckled. "Well, you see there's a funny story behind that. I got rid of it because it scared the shit out of Rukia one night."

Rukia doubled over and hid her face.

"You see we were watching TV and there was a ventriloquist on. I got the idea to try and do a sort of ventriloquist thing with the mask so I went off and perfected it. I then went up to Rukia in the middle of the night and made the mask crack up laughing. Long story short. We had to get new sheets for the bed and I got rid of the mask because it gave her nightmares." Grimmjow started the wave of laughter, but Rukia was so embarrassed that she turned away from the whole group and began sulking in the corner.

"Okay. The last question is for Urahara."

"Shoot." The band manager smiled.

"Well, word is you owned a candy store right here in Karakura and only recently you have become a record manager. How did you bridge the gap between such different occupations?"

"Well, selling candy only gets you so far. I think the greedy bug bit me and I yearned for more money. I loved music so I thought I'd get involved with that. Unfortunately, I have no real talent on the instruments but my managerial skills came in handy and I became a record producer and band manager. I think it's a great job and I can't believe I only got involved recently."

"Right, well thanks so much guys. Just one last thing. Can I get your autograph?" The girl held out a poster of the band and also their debut album.

"I don't have a pen on me, sorry." Ichigo murmured.

"We could do it in blood!" Kenpachi suggested.

"No thanks!" The girl cried, fishing a marker out of her pocket. As soon as everything was signed, the girl ran out of the room as fast as her legs would allow and she never came back.

* * *

This next interview was given on the day of Rukia's release from hospital, several months after Deathfest and the harrowing events of that day. The band agreed for only one interview and this was it.

* * *

The brave survivors from Soul Reaper gathered in their home. Rukia and Ichigo passed time by having a long passionate kiss. Renji watched with a scowl and Grimmjow cradled his arm which was still in a cast.

The door was opened by a freakishly tall man with draping black hair and cold eyes. His flesh was pale and he worse spiked wristbands. He shook everyone's hand and then approached Rukia. "It's good to know you're well. I'd hug you but, you know..." He displayed his spiked wristbands. He sat down and took out a notepad and pen.

"Well, hello guys. It's good to see you're all well after that unusual incident at Deathfest. Do you know what happened, being right in the middle of it?"

"No." Ichigo snarled.

"Okay, it's still too soon. So, um. Let's start off with something a bit nicer, huh?" Everyone nodded. "Okay, Rukia and Ichigo, how does it feel to be the hottest new couple in metal?"

"It's great! We do a calendar shoot next month!" Rukia chirped.

"No that's just you." Ichigo corrected.

"Aww." Rukia groaned.

Ichigo ignored her and returned to the question. "Yeah, it's been really fun. The wedding was so awesome! It was just so crazy, but it suited us perfectly."

"Is there a honeymoon planned?"

"Not until the sequel." Ichigo stated simply.

"What?" The interviewer asked.

"Never mind."

"So, has your relationship gotten in the way of the music or is it the other way around?"

Ichigo grinned. "I don't think it's either. We've found a good balance. I mean I warm up my fingers with Rukia before rehearsals and-"

"Uh-huh, I get you. No need to get X-rated." The interviewer wiped his forehead and sighed. "No wonder she quit..."

"Who?" Renji queried.

"That last girl we had. She quit immediately after an interview with you guys but never explained why."

"We're not that weird!" Grimmjow snarled.

The interviewer sank into his chair and calmed his racing heart. "Anyway...Back to the newlyweds. Rukia do you feel a tension around the other guys since they all felt for you?" He gave a brief pause. "And some felt you apparently..."

"What was the second part?" Rukia asked.

"Oh, I sneezed. It wasn't part of the question."

"Oh..." There was an awkward silence before. "What was the question again?"

The interviewer ignored her and turned to Renji. "So, how is your relationship with Rukia now that she is married to your best friend?"

"Well, it initially felt a little weird but now I'm kind of used to it." Renji answered.

"If we were kissing right now your answer would be different." Ichigo joked.

"Shut up!" Renji growled.

"So there is still a little tension between you all?"

"A little. I mean we still have knife fights every now and then but...You can cut that bit out right?" Ichigo whispered.

"We aren't recording."

"Oh good. We don't have knife fights...Often...Uh; you can ask the next question now."

The interviewer shrugged and went on. "So, we've all been secretly wondering. Where is Ulquiorra?"

Ichigo frowned. "Is that the creep who never ever showed up for rehearsals? He never contacted us so we just gave up. That and he was creepy...really creepy. It didn't mater that much because we found a way to move around the lack of a synth player and it just left more room for guitar solos and stuff so we like it." Ichigo cocked his head. "Come to think of it I think it was before the battle of the bands when we tried to ring him but he never answered."

The interviewer nodded. "It was also around that time that a strange rumour began to surface that you drink menstrual blood." There was another awkward silence. "Do you?"

Rukia gagged and ran out of the room.

"Of course not! That's disgusting! I only said that to shut everybody up because they were laughing at me."

"Why were they laughing at you?"

Grimmjow cackled and doubled over. "Because he jumped into a fucking barrier fence! Ha ha ha ha!" Everyone laughed at him, just like back then and Ichigo's face went as red as the menstrual blood he lied about drinking. He folded his arms and waited but when the laughter did not end for ten minutes he began to get desperate. He looked around anxiously and then blurted out another silencer.

"I drown puppies!"

Everyone froze.

"What?" Renji gasped.

"Dude that's just messed up!" Grimmjow added.

"How could you do that? They're only little puppies!" Rukia cried.

The interviewer began scribbling something down when Ichigo roared.

"I don't actually drown puppies!" He cursed under his breath. "Hurry up and move on!"

"Alright then, calm down. What have you guys got planned next? "

"Well, a world tour would be great. I think we're gonna take a trip round the world and in the spare time we got we'll try and get some writing done." Ichigo explained.

"What will you do in terms of drumming, since you sadly lost Kenpachi Zaraki?"

"Well, many people have offered. We've been getting star drummers offering their support but I think we'll go with another Karakura local. It won't be the same without him but we know he wouldn't want us to quit just because he left this world."

"Well it's great to hear that such tragedy will not keep such dedicated musicians down. I know I'm gonna be getting tickets for your shows." The interviewer said happily. "Anyway, last question, this is for Grimmjow. There have been rumours going around that you have a bladder infection. Is this true?"

Grimmjow laughed. "No, I just drink too much light beer." His laughter suddenly stopped. "Speaking of which. Natures calling." Grimmjow left the room and the interviewer rose from his seat to shake his hand before he ran off.

"Well, thanks for meeting with me. I know it's been a rough ride but I'm sure you'll cope. See you on the road guys!" He shook everyone's hands and then left.

Rukia, Renji and Ichigo sat back down and stared at the floor, lost in thought. Renji raised his eyebrows and walked over to the fridge and studied the contents. There was no light beer...there never was...

Everyone shared uneasy glances. "We're gonna have to check that out some time."

"Not now. We'll wait for the sequel." Ichigo murmured.

"Huh?"

"Oh forget it!" Ichigo snarled.

Well, I hope you enjoyed that! If you took the hint, there will be a sequel in the future, though it may be a long wait. For now please review and keep metal alive!** \m/ \m/**


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